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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



































FLYING THE STATES 



















■ 

















* 

















































































































































































































.* 




















The Flying Family 















































By 

LT. COLONEL GEORGE R. HUTCHINSON 

> ! 

Author of 

The Flying Family in Greenland, etc . 


Illustrated with Photographs 


JUNIOR PRESS BOOKS 

alberTXwhitman 

4 CO 

CHICAGO 

1937 





\ 1 / 12 \ 


Copyright, 1937, by 
Albert Whitman & Company 


Printed in the U.S.A. 


NOV 15 1937 


h 11 2025 

3 8-3110 



I dedicate this book to Henry Ford, with the 
hope that he will some day produce a family Air 
Flivver within reach of the average American 
family budget. Thus, may he lead the way in the 
air as well as on land—for American family pleas' 
ure and American air defense. 


George R. Hutchinson. 



FOREWORD 


When I was a youngster I longed to travel, to explore, 
to see the far-off, out-of-the-way places of the world. I 
know now that if my father had been financially able to 
make my dreams come true, I would have been a most 
grateful and happy youngster. When a generation passed 
and I found myself filling his shoes, I made aviation my 
business, so that my children might enjoy real adventure 
with me. Thus, for years and years Janet Lee and Kathryn 
have been flying all over the world, with me as their pilot 
and my wife as their teacher. The plane has been their 
Flying Home and Classroom in the Skies, with the earth 
below always a picture subject. 

From the book, FLYING THE STATES, our readers 
will understand how we have seen America first, as all 
Americans should, if and when the opportunity arises. The 
airplane of the future will bring about many changes in the 
world's transportation picture, so until all of us start keep¬ 
ing the Family Flivver behind the house, let’s follow the 
adventures of the world’s first Flying Family in flying the 
states. 


George R. Hutchinson. 
























































CONTENTS 


PAGE 

A Christmas Present from the Sky . . . 17 

Working for Their Country.35 

On Their Way.47 

Three States on a Rainy Day.55 

A Classroom in the Skies.69 

Connecticut—Rhode Island—Massachusetts . 74 

The Lion Goes Tobogganing ...... 80 

Snow—Snow—and Snow.89 

The Elements Have Their Victory .... 99 

Franklin Delano Roosevelt ....... 108 

The Airplane Factory.116 

Governor Earns a Reputation.123 

Prairie States.132 

Head Winds ..137 

The Air Ambulance.144 

Janet Lee on Horseback.152 

The Lion and the Wrestlers. .161 

Following Lindbergh’s Trail.170 
















CONTENTS (Continued) 


PAGE 

A Test of Courage.176 

Complications. .191 

The Lion Wanders in the Night.198 

The Plane Rides the Train.202 

A Long Delay.207 

More Trouble.214 

Naval Maneuvers.233 

The Cliff Dwellers. 248 

The Dust Storm.257 

Night Flying in the Rain.267 

Making Up Lost Time.274 

The Journey’s End.279 














LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 

The Flying Family.Frontispiece 

The Scroll. 16 

Reception in New York.41 

Kathryn and Janet Lee.57 

The Hutchinsons on their way.101 

The Flying Lion at play . 125 

An official reception.139 

Janet Lee and Governor.167 

Mrs. Hutchinson with her daughters . . . 227 

Mrs. Hutchinson.241 

The round trip is finished.281 
















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The Scroll 














































































































Chapter I 


A CHRISTMAS PRESENT FROM THE SKY 


I T was Christmas morning in Wayne, Michigan. 
At the big airplane factory the night'watchman 
was just making his last scheduled round of the 
building before knocking off at seven AM. 

Outside it was still dark and a heavy snow was 
falling. As he put his key in the last time lock to 
end his night’s work, he was startled to see a man 
step out of the cabin door of a brand new plane which 
was facing in the direction of the wide sliding hangar 
doors. 

“Who’s there?” the watchman shouted, as he 
reached for his gun in its holster. 


17 





Flying the States 


“Its only me, Tom! 11 answered a voice with a 
strong southern accent. 

In the dim light from the single electric fixture, 
the watchman could not at first distinguish the figure 
that approached him. 

“It's me, Tom. What's the matter with you, too 
much Christmas spirit? 11 

“Oh, it's you, Colonel Hutchinson, 11 replied the 
elderly watchman. “I didn't recognize your voice. 
Kind'a gave me a scare there for a minute. 11 

“Took me for a burglar, eh? 11 

“You just surprised me, Colonel. I just didn't 
know anyone else was around but me. How'd you 
get in here anyway? 11 

“I've been here all night. 11 

“You have? 11 

“Sure. I stayed on after all the boys left last 
night. Thought probably it would clear and I could 
get an early start this morning for New York and 
home. 11 

The watchman stared. “Gee, Colonel, have you 
been asleep in the new plane all night? 11 

“Certainly have, and I slept well, too. 11 

“Say, Colonel Hutchinson, you won't report this, 
will you? 11 



A Christmas Present from the Sky 


i 9 


“Report what, Tom?” 

“Me. You know how it would sound if the boss 
heard his night watchman — well — wasn't on the 
job.” 

“Don't you worry about that for one minute. 
Your boss knew I'd planned to stay around all night. 
Anyway, it was my fault for not telling you when 
you came on duty last night. Guess I slept pretty 
sound, Tom.” 

“I'll say you did, Colonel. I never heard a peep 
out of you, not even a snore! Well, it doesn't look 
as if you're going to get the new air wagon home for 
Christmas after all.” 

“I don't know about that. I've waited three days 
already. Two while the boys put on the finishing 
touches, and one for weather.” 

“Um—too bad. A Christmas in Wayne isn't so 
good—especially if you're a family man and the farm 
ily's not with you.” 

“You're right there, Tom, and that idea settles it. 
I'm going.” 

“In this snow?” 

“That's it—in this snow. Christmas is a big day 
for my two little girls and believe me, snow or no 
snow, I'm flying through.” 



20 


Flying the States 


In spite of Tom's arguing, worrying, advising, and 
pleading, Colonel Hutchinson was determined. To¬ 
gether, they rolled the new plane out into the snow 
as the sky was breaking into daylight. The snow 
was still falling and it was bitter cold. 

The plane had been gassed the day before. Al¬ 
ready Colonel Hutchinson, together with the factory 
pilot had thoroughly tested the plane in flight. The 
usual minor adjustments following this check flight 
had caused some delay and was followed by this bad 
weather. With his grips and Christmas packages 
carefully placed, Colonel Hutchinson bade good-bye 
to Tom, and gave him a welcome Christmas present 
as he climbed in the cabin of the sleek, shiny, black 
and yellow monoplane. He switched on the ignition; 
three shots with the primer, a step on the new elec¬ 
tric starter and the 425 horsepower motor started 
hitting on all nine cylinders. 

For nearly fifteen minutes Colonel Hutchinson sat 
quietly behind the wheel on the left side of the wide 
roomy cabin, as he slowly revved up the motor and 
checked the various instruments and radio equip¬ 
ment. Meanwhile, Tom had closed the big, sliding 
doors and gone to the front office from which he 
could see the take-off. 



A Christmas Present from the Sky 


21 


Colonel Hutchinson locked the brakes, gave the 
motor full throttle and smiled as the tachometer 
registered steady at 1725 R.P.M. As he released the 
brakes the plane sped down the snow'covered, two' 
way runway, making deep tracks in the soft snow as 
it gathered momentum. He held it on the ground 
until it had plenty of flying speed. He then slowly 
eased back on the wheel and the plane left the 
ground as gently as a bird. 

Tom peered through the office window and 
watched the plane disappear in the falling snow, 
headed eastward. He waited exactly ten minutes by 
his watchman's clock, he then lifted the telephone, 
dialed Western Union and gave the operator this 
message; 

MRS. BLANCHE HUTCHINSON 
HOTEL GOVERNOR CLINTON 
NEW YORK CITY, N. Y. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO MY THREE SWEET¬ 
HEARTS. MEET ME NEWARK AIRPORT ABOUT 
NOON. BRING CHILDREN, HAVE GREAT SUR¬ 
PRISE. DON'T WORRY. 

LOVE 

GEORGE 

Then Tom hung up and spoke aloud to himself, 



22 


Flying the States 


“Well, sir, I've followed your instructions to the 
letter. I hope you have a Merry Christmas and a 
Happy Landing . 11 

* * * * * 

In her hotel bedroom in New York Mrs. Hutchin- 
son was wakened by the loud ringing of the tele- 
phone. 

“Yes, this is Mrs. Hutchinson. A message for 
me? All right, go ahead. Read it, but wait a min¬ 
ute until I get a pencil . 11 

She reached in the night table drawer and picked 
up a small pad and pencil. “Now will you read it, 
please ? 11 

As she wrote down the last words: “Don't worry, 
Love, George , 11 she hung up the receiver and stared 
rather anxiously toward the windows across the 
room. It was snowing heavily. 

At that moment the door from the adjoining bed¬ 
room opened. A blue-eyed, auburn-haired girl about 
eight poked her head through. 

“What is it, Mother? I heard the telephone ring ! 11 

Immediately a blonde head also appeared. Tousled, 
sleepy, pajama-clad, the two little girls peered into 
the room. 



A Christmas Present from the Sky 


23 


“Well, Mother, what is it?" Katherine asked again. 

“It's a telegram from Daddy, children." 

“Read it to us, Mother," said Janet Lee, as she 
jumped on the bed beside her mother, followed ah 
most immediately by her older sister Kathryn. 

“Keep still now, and don’t jar the bed and I will 
read it. It says: 'Merry Christmas to my three 
sweethearts. Meet me Newark Airport about noon. 
Bring children. Have great surprise. Don’t worry. 
Love.’ ’’ 

“Whee—e. Oh, boy, oh, boy! Wonder what the 
surprise is, Mother?" Kathryn cried. 

“Golly, I’ll bet it’s a—it’s a bicycle!" chirped Janet 
Lee. 

“Oh, no, Janet Lee, maybe it’s that white Indian 
headdress I wanted. O'O'h, that’s what it is, I 
know." 

“Maybe it’s something for me," suggested their 
mother. 

“Look, it’s snowing," said Janet Lee as she made a 
hop, skip and jump toward the large window looking 
down on the avenue, thirty floors below. 

“Yes, it’s snowing," their mother repeated, and 
instantly both little girls caught the note of anxiety 
in her voice. 



24 


Flying the States 


“Why don’t you sound happy, Mother?” asked 
Kathryn. 

“Well, children, don’t you realize your daddy is 
flying a brand new plane nearly a thousand miles in 
bad weather just to be here with us for Christmas?” 

“That’s nothing, Mother. Daddy can fly any- 
where, in good weather or bad weather. It’s easy 
for him,” returned Janet Lee, who had every faith 
in her father’s power. 

“Sure, Mother, Daddy’s a transport pilot, you 
know,” Kathryn added. 

“I know all that, children, but it’s winter time 
and he has to fly over those awful Allegheny Mourn 
tains in a snowstorm.” 

“But, Mother, Daddy said in the telegram not to 
worry, didn’t he?” 

“Yes, Mother, he did,” put in Janet Lee quickly, 
“and right away you are starting to worry!” 

“Well, I guess your daddy wouldn’t want us won 
rying or unhappy on Christmas, would he?” 

“That’s so, it’s really Christmas! Merry Christmas, 
Mother!” 

The two children curled up on the bed, to chatter 
eagerly about Daddy, Christmas, presents, the snow 
and their plans for this Christmas day. 



A Christmas Present from the Sky 


25 


Listening to their happy voices, Mrs. Hutchinson 
felt her own heart gradually lighten, her anxiety give 
way before their childlike, untroubled faith. 

***** 

It required a good half hour of skillful flying be- 
fore Colonel Hutchinson climbed through the heavy 
snow clouds. At times the snow would pile up on 
the windshield, and he would have to open the side 
window and reach ahead with his gloved left hand 
to wipe it off. The outside temperature was about 
ten degrees above zero, as he topped the clouds and 
leveled off at 13,000 feet. Inside the cabin it was 
comfortable and warm. At this altitude he flew an 
easterly compass course directly toward Newark, 
New Jersey. 

For those who have not experienced all the trials 
and joys of flying, it is hard to realize that one can 
be flying along smoothly at 160 miles an hour, 13,000 
feet in the air, in a warm roomy cabin, with the sun 
shining and the sky the clearest of blue, while below 
a terrific snow storm is raging. Such was the weather 
as Colonel Hutchinson's new plane skimmed over 
rolling masses of clouds while he skillfully guided her 
toward home and his family. 



26 


Flying the States 


With radio ear phones clamped over his head he 
listened to the Christmas programs being broadcast 
from different cities. First Detroit, then Cleveland, 
then Buffalo, each fading as the plane flew out of 
range. Then he would tune in the next station ahead 
on his route, or pick up the aviation band for weather 
information from air line operation offices. 

Watching his air speed, judging his wind drift, 
and watching the clock while flying by the direc" 
tional gyro, kept him busy calculating and estimating 
his position. Not being able to see land with its even 
present check points, it is always difficult for a flyer 
to ascertain his correct position at all times. A strong 
wind drift, a slight error in setting the directional 
gyro, any slight miscalculation, is enough to put him 
far off course in a very few minutes. 

By radio Colonel Hutchinson learned that the 
snow storm was general, with heavy snow falling 
all along the Atlantic Coast, as far south as Rich" 
mond, Virginia, and as far north as Portland, Maine. 

Nearly two hours passed before he decided to 
check his position by sight. He slowly headed down" 
ward, 10,000 — 9,000 — 7,000 feet, blind — blind — 
blind. Clouds were everywhere. Like a blanket they 
completely obscured the view below. At 1100 feet 
the plane passed under the clouds and into a heavy 



A Christmas Present from the Sky 


27 


snowfall, but the altitude meter registered 500 feet 
before he was able to determine his exact position by 
sighting a familiar formation in one of the Finger 
Lakes in New York State. 

He checked this point on his map and again 
climbed up through the clouds, topping them this 
time at 14,000 feet. As he flew eastward, cloud for" 
mations began banking up ahead, forcing him to 
climb higher and higher. At 18,000 feet his head be" 
gan aching and he felt the need of oxygen. As he 
was not equipped for high altitude flying, naturally 
he must fly blind or go down. So down he went 
again, this time to 500 feet above the ground. But 
here a blizzard was raging, buffeting the plane about 
and making safe flying impossible. Again he climbed 
to 10,000 feet where the air was more steady. At 
this altitude he leveled off and settled back for sev' 
eral hours of the dreaded blind flying. 

***** 

Following a light breakfast, Mrs. Hutchinson mv 
locked the living room door to disclose the Christ" 
mas preparations for Janet Lee and Kathryn. A beau" 
tiful tree rose from a mimic landscape, with presents 
piled high beneath the boughs. A miniature loco" 



28 


Flying the States 


motive made its way over bridges, through tunnels 
and around the garden. It was loaded down with 
small packages of Christmas cheer. 

For the next few hours the children and their 
mother entered into the joy of Christmas—opening 
their presents, playing with games, trying on ski suits 
and scarfs, reading Christmas cards, and the count' 
less other things that happen only on Christmas Day. 

Soon there were callers, old friends, new friends, 
and acquaintances, and the presents kept piling up. 
When the telephone rang for the 'teenth time Janet 
Lee eagerly cried out: 

“Answer it, Mother, quickly. Fll bet it s some 
more presents—hurry!' 1 

“Hello. Yes, this is Mrs. Hutchinson. 11 

“This is the City Desk, New York American. We 
heard that Colonel Hutchinson is flying in from 
Wayne, Michigan, landing at the Newark Airport. 
The radio operator reports very hard snowstorms 
along this entire route and says he's having a hard 
time getting in touch with your husband. Are you 
going out to the airport to meet him? 11 

In a rather nervous voice Mrs. Hutchinson told 
the reporter of Colonel Hutchinson's wire and of 
their plans to meet him at noon. 



A Christmas Present from the Sky 


29 


The repoiter offered to drive all three of them 
out to the airport, promising to pick them up in ten 
minutes. 

Christmas was almost forgotten in the excitement. 
The children were well bundled up, and in five min¬ 
utes Mother, Janet Lee and Kathryn were on the 
elevator descending to the main lobby. They were 
hardly through the revolving doors when the re¬ 
porter drove up in his car. He immediately recog¬ 
nized the family and introduced himself. He then 
hustled them into his small sedan. It was 11:45 A.M. 
by the Pennsylvania Station clock as he made a U 
turn and raced down the avenue. 

Taking advantage of the leniency of the police 
on Christmas Day, he violated more than one traffic 
regulation on his way to the Holland tunnel. Once 
through the tunnel he sped directly toward the New¬ 
ark Airport, taking all the side street short cuts to 
save time. 

Little was said as the car sped along. 

It was only a few minutes past twelve when they 
hurried into the radio room at the airport. Just as 
they entered the operator was speaking over the mi¬ 
crophone: 

“Calling N.C. 491 Y—Calling Colonel Hutchin- 



30 


Flying the States 


son — Calling Colonel Hutchinson — N.C. 491 Y. 
Come in Hutchinson — come in Hutchinson, we’re 
waiting. Come in Colonel Hutchinson” 

* -Jf * * 

"Hello Newark—Hello Newark—Newark! Why 
don't you answer" 

It seemed like hours since he had spoken with the 
operator at Newark and try as he would, he could 
not now get a reply. For nearly two hours Colonel 
Hutchinson had been flying blind, and after the first 
hour, blind flying is really nerve-wracking. Now, on 
top of this he could not raise Newark on his radio. 

Outside the temperature was rising and the snow 
was wetter, causing ice to form on the windshield 
and leading edges of the wings. Anticipating a pos¬ 
sible forced landing, due to the weight of the ice 
that seemed to grow thicker on the wings each 
minute, he made as steep a glide as he dared, down, 
down until he reached 1000 feet. At this altitude 
he could occasionally get a glimpse of the ground, of 
houses or of large buildings. He watched carefully for 
an emergency landing field and eased back on the 
wheel and throttle. He judged that his stalling point 
was anywhere from 85 to 90 M.P.H., due to the ice 



A Christmas Present from the Sky 


3i 


on the wings.. Levelling off at 500 feet, he gave the 
motor full throttle to maintain flying speed. Sud- 
denly a voice over the radio fairly shouted in his ears: 

“Come in Colonel Hutchinson — Calling N.C. 
491 Y—Newark calling Colonel Hutchinson—Come 
in Col. Hutchinson. Your family wants to speak with 
you” 

Snatching up the microphone he fairly shouted: 
“Hello Newark—Hello Blanche—Merry Christmas 
Janet Lee—Merry Christmas Kathryn—Lm having 
a sleigh ride up here. Give me ceiling, wind and 
ground conditions, Newark—Come in Newark” 

At that very moment Colonel Hutchinson spied 
a familiar landmark—a high smoke stack, belching 
forth a heavy column of black smoke. He saw im- 
mediately that he was only about five miles southwest 
of the airport and the direction of the wind would 
not make it necessary to circle the airport before 
landing. He listened as Newark came in with: 

“Wind N.E. 15—Ceiling 500 feet—Ground cov¬ 
ered with six inches of snow—Obstruction, landing 
and runway lights are on*—East-west runway safest 
—Hold on Colonel Hutchinson” 

A few seconds of silence followed, then a sweet 
little voice came over the radio: 



32 


Flying the States 


“Merry Christmas, Daddy—This is Janet Lee— 
Can you hear me? Mother, Kathryn and I are all 
here waiting for you—Hurry up—down 1 ’ 

In a few brief moments the plane's motor could 
be heard and the family and radio operator peered 
through the window. They saw the new ship fly 
into clear view from the southwest. Another mo' 
ment, and it had landed. 

As the little family clung together in that first glad 
moment, there were tears of love and happiness in 
their eyes. Janet Lee was the first to speak. 

“What's the surprise, Daddy?" 

“Why the new plane, of course," replied the 
Colonel. 

“Oh, shucks, Daddy, we knew all about the plane. 
That's no surprise," chirped up Kathryn. 

“Teasing already? Will you ever grow up, 
George?" said Mrs. Hutchinson as she clung tightly 
to his arm. 

“Well, children, if you both will climb up on the 
back seat and look behind it you'll see the surprise," 
laughed their father. 

With the speed of a jack rabbit the children made 
a mad scramble to the back seat, peering over to 
see what was behind it. As their eyes rested on the 



A Christmas Present from the Sky 


33 


surprise Christmas present, they shouted in chorus: 

"Mother, Mother, it's only a cat —a spotted cat!” 

"It’s a cat all right—a little 25-pound African 
pussy, commonly known as a lion cub,” said Colonel 
Hutchinson, laughing heartily. 

"Goodness, Kathryn, a real lion for a Christmas 
present!” exclaimed Janet Lee as she stared at their 
new acquisition in amazement. 

Colonel Hutchinson took the lion cub from its 
specially built cage behind the rear cabin seat, fon¬ 
dled him in his arms and stroked his soft fur. The 
cub retorted by licking the back of the Colonel's 
hand with his rough tongue, while the children and 
their mother looked on in amazement at the gentle¬ 
ness of the new pet. 

On the way back to the hotel, Mother, Janet Lee, 
and Kathryn each took turns petting their strange 
Christmas gift, gaining courage as they marveled at 
a lion being so nice and tame. 

Needless to say, the cub caused quite a commotion 
at the hotel. The obliging reporter friend had al¬ 
ready telephoned for photographers and upon the 
arrival of the family, the lobby was crowded with 
motion picture and news cameras. The cub was 
photographed; registering his paw prints, being held 



34 


Flying the States 


by the children, and in many other scenes, such as 
being put to bed and given a bath in the tub of a 
modern New York hotel. 

So the African lion cub which was flown from 
Wayne to New York on Christmas Day became the 
children’s best Christmas present, as well as a mascot 
and pal. Toys, clothes and other presents—even the 
new plane—dwindled in importance compared with 
the joy and happiness the new playmate brought 
them that day, and for a long time to come. 







Chapter II 


WORKING FOR THEIR COUNTRY 


For several years the Hutchinson family had been 
flying throughout the eastern part of the United 
States, touring the country by air as other families 
would tour by automobile. These family air jaunts 
had gained them the name of The Flying Family and 
being America's first real flying family, that name 
became a national news story wherever they went. 

Colonel Hutchinson received numerous invitations 
to speak before service clubs, student bodies, and 
public gatherings in the interest of aviation. But 
these invitations very shortly included the entire 
family, because the real interest was in the “family 


35 





36 


Flying the States 


who flew,” rather than in Colonel Hutchinson him' 
self as a pilot. 

Janet Lee and Kathryn had been practically reared 
in and around airplanes since they were tiny tots. 
Some part of each day had been spent flying or play' 
ing around their daddy’s plane, or at the airport. 

Colonel Hutchinson operated one of Pennsyb 
vania’s early airports, carrying on charter service, 
plane sales, student instructions, and air taxi work. 
Great crowds would gather at the airport to witness 
aerial acrobatics, single, double, triple and mass para' 
chute jumping, delayed jumps, sky writing, night fly' 
ing and formation flying. Professional jumpers have 
earned as high as $500.00 for one jump taken for a 
silver offering. Over $2,000.00 in a single day had 
been taken in for plane rides. Six, eight and often ten 
planes were kept constantly in the air on Sundays 
and holidays. Special police were needed to regulate 
the automobile traffic. The hot dog stand did a great 
business along with the popcorn and soft drink con' 
cessions. 

From the start Janet Lee and Kathryn learned 
about airplanes. Often they would accompany some 
timid uninitiated person taking his or her first flight. 
Flying in all types of visiting planes, viewing the 



Working for Their Country 


37 


cabin and instrument panels, meeting famous pilots, 
watching students from instruction to solo time, all 
these experiences brought the Hutchinson children 
first-hand lessons in aviation. 

To Janet Lee and Kathryn the airplane was home, 
classroom and picture theatre. The word fear was 
erased from their vocabulary and at six and eight, 
respectively, they were air veterans, having spent 
more time in the air than the average transport pilot. 
Their mother and father taught them history, geog¬ 
raphy, spelling, art, arithmetic, reading, and music 
in their classroom in the skies. The earth and its his¬ 
tory spread out below them, made school a game 
of knowledge loaded with surprises, fun, and genuine 
interest. 

Christmas had passed. The winter weather was 
at its worse. Snow-fall was far above the average 
and each day had been bitterly cold. On December 
30th, around eight o'clock in the evening, a gentle 
knock on their living-room door aroused both Colo¬ 
nel and Mrs. Hutchinson. The Colonel was busy 
writing letters preparatory to a scheduled lecture 
tour. Mrs. Hutchinson was deep in a new novel. 

“Come in," said the Colonel as he laid down his 
pen. 



3« 


Flying the States 


The door opened and a short but strongly built 
middle aged man entered. He had very dark features 
and his sparkling white teeth showed in a warm gen- 
erous smile. 

“Hello, Blanche—Hello, George," he said as he 
extended his hand to Colonel Hutchinson. 

“Why, Mr. Canter, how are you? 1 ' Blanche quick' 
ly laid aside her book, arose and took his hat, oven 
coat and gloves. “It's nice to see you. How are Fay 
and Jimmy? 11 

“Fine, Blanche. Yes, we're all well and have had 
a most pleasant holiday," he replied. 

Fay was his wife and Jimmy, his son; a fine son, 
who had honored his father by entering Columbia 
University at fifteen with highest honors. The two 
families had been friends for several years. 

Janet Lee and Kathryn had already retired, and 
following a friendly conversation regarding the 
weather, Christmas, the Canter and Hutchinson 
families, Mr. Canter said: “George, how would you 
like to do a great job for your country, for avh 
ation?" 

“You know me, Mr. Canter, nothing would suit 
me better than to do something worth while. Flying 
is my life." 



Working for Their Country 


39 


“Tell us your plan, Mr. Canter, 1 ' asked Blanche. 
It sounds thrilling, to be doing something for your 
country. Especially for me, as I'm only a woman. 11 

“That's one of the points, Blanche," replied Mr. 
Canter. “In this day and age, adventure, business, 
sport, and in fact most everything is open to both 
men and women. And for the Hutchinsons it means 
a real job for the whole family—Janet Lee, Kathryn, 
you and George." 

“You've got me mighty anxious, Mr. Canter," 
said George, as he drew his chair closer to his friend. 

Settling himself comfortably in the deep arm chair, 
Mr. Canter continued: 

“Well, I'd better start from the beginning. I love 
this country—America, the United States of Amer¬ 
ica. The very words breathe life, freedom and hap¬ 
piness for everyone. I've seen New York City grow 
and grow, until it is overcrowded. I've seen the ce¬ 
ment sidewalks laid and roads paved, buildings built 
up, story upon story. I'll wager there are children 
here in New York whose bare feet have never 
touched the soil, the real soil of America. 

“Why, on a hot Sunday afternoon at Coney Island 
a million people will congregate on the beach, massed 
together like sheep or cattle—yet, 50, 100, 200 miles 



40 


Flying the States 


from New York there are mountains, brooks, lakes, 
forests. Three thousand miles from the Atlantic 
to the Pacific, another fifteen hundred miles from 
Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, forming thousands 
upon thousands of square miles to be developed, 
cultivated and used by the people of America. 

“Yet, there are millions of people right here in 
New York who have never set foot outside of the 
metropolitan area — whose bare feet have never 
touched the real soil of America, as Tom Sawyer 
or Huck Finn did.” 

After a moment he continued: 

“Now when Henry Ford developed his famous 
'Model T' Ford, and sold it at a price within reach 
of the average family pocketbook, he did a great job 
in the progressive development of the United States. 
Mass production of automobiles quickened the pulse 
of American transportation. Of course, with the 
automobile, the task was simple. Within a few hours 
anyone with average mentality could learn to drive 
an automobile. 

“Now, George, I believe that within a very few 
years man will be able to fly to any point within the 
boundary of the United States in a very few hours. 
And, when this time arrives the airplane will revoke 




O 

<50 

8 

o 

HO 

C< 


















































































. 







Working for Their Country 


43 


tioniz,e American business, industry and pleasure, 
just as happened in the beginning of the automobile 
era. 

“America would never have been settled unless 
men, women, and children had dared the crossing 
of the wide Atlantic in tiny wooden sailing vessels. 

“The far West never would have been developed 
unless men, women, and children had dared the 
hardships that confronted the prairie schooner, the 
covered wagon, and the early settlers. 

“So, on the sea and on the land, it was the family 
that pioneered, the family that became the backbone 
of a new and great nation. 

“Now I want you both, with the children, to lead 
the way in the air. To set the pace to challenge the 
old, and accept the new—to pioneer in the air!" 

“You're talking my language, Mr. Canter," broke 
in Colonel Hutchinson, “what's your plan?" 

“As you both know," continued Mr. Canter, 
“the average person has a fear of flying—of high alti¬ 
tudes, and the safety of the airplane. This must be 
overcome, but not through long years of airline op* 
eration, because despite all precautions there always 
will be a few accidents, comparable to those we ex¬ 
perience on railroads and ships at sea. 



44 


Flying the States 


"With your family, a real modern American farm 
ily, we want you to fly from the President of the 
United States and from the capitol in Washington, 
D. C., to the capitals of each of the forty-eight states. 
You will be given a scroll bearing a message of good 
will, and each Governor will receive you and the 
family and will affix his signature to the document. 
You and the family will complete the flight together 
and return the document with its forty^eight signa- 
tures to the President in Washington. You will be 
"Family Ambassador of Good Will. 1 11 

For a moment husband and wife were speechless, 
then as though to himself, Colonel Hutchinson re- 
peated: ""The President's message—the family—the 
forty-eight states—we'll be making history—" 

Blanche broke in: ""Oh, Mr. Canter, does the Presh 
dent really believe we can aid our country?" 

""Yes, he does, Blanche. Only yesterday, a man 
very close to him with whom I discussed the whole 
idea, said, "If in America there were 10,000 or 20,000 
privately owned airplanes, our country would be 
second to no other in national defense, because each 
plane could easily be converted into a defense weapon 
of war in times of emergency. If the Hutchinson 
family's long record of safe flying can encourage 



Working for Their Country 


45 


other families to See America First as a picture from 
the sky, to encourage private plane ownership, then 
the everyday flights of the family bearing a message 
from the President will be a benefit to the nation and 
to the development of aviation. 1 

“Well, Blanche—George—will you do it? 11 asked 
Mr. Canter. 

“Will we do it!? 11 they exclaimed together. “Of 
course we will, Mr. Canter! 11 

“That's fine, 11 replied their friend, whose smiling 
face expressed his complete satisfaction. “Fll ar¬ 
range all the financing and details for your reception 
by the President; the document and schedule. By 
the way, when this trip is completed we want you 
each to make all the talks you possibly can before 
the schools. Janet Lee and Kathryn, especially, are 
to talk. Let them inspire other children with am¬ 
bition through their ability to speak in public. You 
know it is the younger generation who will reap 
the benefits of your work, through the gradual de¬ 
velopment of aviation through years to come. 11 

So the work of this modern family was to be rec¬ 
ognized by the President of the United States. Both 
Blanche and George certainly felt proud of this 
honor that had been arranged for them. 



46 


Flying the States 


Before leaving, Mr. Canter tiptoed into the chil¬ 
dren's room with Colonel and Mrs. Hutchinson, just 
to see the two little girls he thought so much of, and 
whom he hadn't seen for several months. But he 
received a real shock when he saw the lion cub 
stretched out at the. foot of their bed, sound asleep. 
While Mr. Canter looked on in amazement the cub 
turned over, opened his eyes, looked at each of them 
as they stood in the light of the doorway, yawned 
and went back to sleep again. 

To satisfy Mr. Canter, Colonel Hutchinson car- 
ried the cub into the living room, fondled and petted 
him, then gave him a large pan of milk, just to con¬ 
vince their friend Canter that this wild beast was 
all right as a pet for Janet Lee and Kathryn. 

Mr. Canter promised to arrange all necessary de¬ 
tails on the morrow, and left them. 

Soon all arrangements were completed, and at 
12:45 P.M. on January 3rd, 1931, the Flying Hutch¬ 
inson Family was ushered into President Hoover s 
White House office. Here he welcomed each mem¬ 
ber of the family, gave each of them fatherly and 
friendly advice, encouraged their enterprise and 
wished them Godspeed as he affixed his signature as 
President of the United States to the Scroll. 



Chapter III 


ON THEIR WAY 


Ever since Mr. Canter had laid his plans before 
Blanche and George, the family had been busy. 
There were new clothes to be bought, trunks to be 
packed and stored; credit arrangements made for gas 
and oil; a general check on the new plane and motor; 
flying routes to be planned and more school books 
for the children. 

When the family flew to Washington each was 
attired in neat, brown flying togs. Both Colonel and 
Mrs. Hutchinson belie their age. They could hardly 
be taken for parents old enough to be the father 
and mother of Janet Lee and Kathryn. 


47 





48 


Flying the States 


Immediately following their reception by the Presi¬ 
dent the four members of the Flying Family became 
live national news copy. A battery of camera and 
newspaper men was constantly on their trail. To add 
to all this, there was the lion cub, now called Gover¬ 
nor, the Flying Lion. Kathryn had christened him 
Governor because, since the family was flying to visit 
the forty-eight state governors, she thought that 
name most appropriate. So Governor, sometimes 
shortened to “Gov,” became the mascot’s name. 

Because of an engagement made to see Governor 
Ritchie of Maryland in Annapolis the following day, 
Col. Hutchinson arranged for the family to spend 
the night in the Hotel Washington. The plane was 
hangared at Bolling Field. 

There seemed to be no objection to Governor stop¬ 
ping in the hotel with the family, so a bed was made 
for him in the bath tub. Colonel Hutchinson had 
purchased Governor from the Detroit Zoo a few 
days before Christmas and so far he had behaved as 
well as a puppy or a kitten. The children adored 
him and he followed Janet Lee everywhere she went. 
Each member of the family took turns feeding him, 
because a lion seems to become attached to those 
who feed him regularly, and very wisely all wanted 



On Their Way 


49 


the cub to like rather than dislike them. Teaching 
him tricks was no simple task either. To keep him 
healthy, his coat fluffy and shiny, eyes bright and 
body not too fat, his diet must be carefully regm 
lated. Cod liver oil, mineral oil, raw eggs, milk, 
liver, raw beef, beef bones, and salmon were a few 
of the items that made up his diet. 

Then there was his bath and combing. Governor, 
like all members of the cat family, didn’t like water— 
that is, to bathe in. A stranger couldn’t give him a 
scrubbing without tying him up. Up to now he had 
had only one bath since Colonel Hutchinson brought 
him home, and it was quite an experience. The 
Colonel was, of course, elected for the job, and the 
children helped, especially with the drying and comb' 
ing. It was a big job getting Governor in the water, 
and he just wouldn’t sit or lie down. There he would 
stand in the tub, with water up to his middle, and 
howl and howl as though he were dying. His bath 
was more fun than a circus, but he liked the drying 
part. In fact, he’d help by rubbing his head in the 
towel as someone held it. After his bath his nails 
had to be trimmed. Altogether, the new mascot was 
somewhat of a problem, but the laughter he caused 
with his antics made up for all the trouble. 



50 


Flying the States 


So on this January night in Washington, Governor 
was put to bed in a strange bath tub, in a strange 
city, in a strange hotel, and there left alone in the 
dark. A note was pinned on the closed door warn- 
ing the maids, the bell boys, reporters, or manage- 
ment not to open the door. When all this was done 
the family went out to dinner. 

Following a delightful meal in Washington’s most 
famous restaurant, they returned to their suite, plan¬ 
ning a long night’s rest for all, only to find lights 
burning brightly, the bathroom door wide open, the 
water running full force in the tub, all the bed cov¬ 
ers and pillows piled in a heap under one of the 
twin beds, and Governor lying in the middle of the 
soft bed covers on the floor. 

What a sight, and Governor looked so innocent! 
It seemed that the maid had come into the room to 
leave some extra bath towels. Either anxious to see 
the cub, or failing to see the sign on the bathroom 
door, she had switched on the room lights and 
opened the door. Governor naturally jumped out of 
the tub and ran under the bed. The maid, scared to 
death, ran out into the hall and slammed the door, 
never coming back. And then Governor started to 
explore the room and build a soft bed for himself. 



On Their Way 


Si 


For all this trouble the cub received his first whip- 
ping from the Colonel and was put back to bed in 
the bath tub. 

Early next morning the family was at Bolling Field, 
the famous Army, Navy, and Marine air field at 
Washington, on the northeast bank of the Potomac 
River. While Colonel Flutchinson warmed up the 
motor the family made themselves comfortable in 
the roomy cabin. Governor, none the worse for his 
night in the bath tub, settled down safely and quietly 
in his specially built compartment, behind the rear 
double seat. 

Ten minutes later on this beautiful Sunday morn' 
ing the family was enjoying an air view of Washing' 
ton, the most beautiful city in the land. The Lincoln 
Memorial, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the 
White House, the Capitol, the Senate Building, the 
wide Potomac River, the Washington Monument— 
all were below them. There was a city of great white 
buildings with hundreds of beautiful parks and resi' 
dential districts, laid out like a great wheel with the 
Capitol Building as the hub—Washington, truly a 
splendid city, representative of a great people. 

Colonel Hutchinson guided the plane toward An' 
napolis, at the mouth of the Severn River, the capital 



52 


Flying the States 


of historical Maryland, and the proud home of the 
United States Naval Academy with all its traditions. 
Landing on the parade grounds, the family was driv¬ 
en to Governor Ritchie’s private offices in the State 
Capitol building, where the genial Governor warm¬ 
ly welcomed the first family of the air, affixed his 
signature on the Scroll and wished them Happy 
Landings all the way. 

Governor Ritchie was a great power in Maryland 
and National politics. He was entering his fourth 
four-year term as Governor of Maryland, and was a 
true, representative Democrat. With Janet Lee and 
Kathryn he was like a father with his own children, 
eating sticky candy with them as he asked them ques¬ 
tions about flying and going to school in the air. 
When the family took leave of this handsome, gray 
haired gentleman, it seemed like parting from an old 
friend. 

Even on this Sunday morning, crowds gathered 
to follow the flying family everywhere. The cub 
mascot added to the keen interest. Back toward the 
flying field they drove through the narrow, winding 
streets, passing St. John’s College and many quaint 
houses, some over a hundred years old. The signa¬ 
ture of the President and the first Governor had been 



On Their Way 


53 


secured. Two forty-ninths of the job was completed. 

Another hour found them winging their way 
northeastward toward Dover, the capital of Dela¬ 
ware. Across the wide Chesapeake Bay to the east¬ 
ern shore of Maryland, famous for its oysters and 
fertile lands; Chester, the Chester River emptying 
into the bay, Queenstown, Centerville, and so over 
the Maryland-Delaware state line almost within 
sight of Dover, the second state capital on the pro¬ 
gram. 

There was no airport or landing field in Dover, 
according to the maps, so Colonel Hutchinson cir¬ 
cled the city a number of times before selecting a 
large pasture in which to make a landing. Once on 
the ground the plane sank in the soft earth and it re¬ 
quired nearly full throttle to taxi the plane back to 
the end of the pasture near the highway. The 
weather had been extremely wet in this section of 
the state, and all the fields were soft and muddy. 

No sooner had the plane landed than crowds be¬ 
gan to arrive, eager to see the plane, family and lion. 
As it was late in the afternoon the family was driven 
into town and registered at the Hotel Richardson, 
an old residence converted into Dover’s leading 
hotel. 



54 


Flying the States 


The evening was spent in meeting and chatting 
with many friendly and interesting residents of 
Dover. The family retired early and since the only 
rooms with bath in the hotel were already occupied, 
Governor had to be put to bed on the rug at the foot 
of Colonel Hutchinson’s bed. 

About two A.M. Colonel Hutchinson was awak' 
ened by a terrible wind and rain storm. He quickly 
dressed, awakened the hotel manager and together 
they drove out to the field where he had left the 
plane. It was fortunate that they did, because the 
wind was rocking and swaying the plane wildly. 
With some difficulty they managed to stake it safely 
down with long ropes and secure the controls by 
tying. Despite the driving rain, the inside of the 
cabin was dry. After satisfying themselves that the 
plane was sufficiently secure to weather this unusu' 
ally severe storm, the men returned to the hotel and 
a welhearned night’s rest. 



Chapter IV 


THREE STATES ON A RAINY DAY 


Before eight the next morning Janet Lee and 
Kathryn were up and dressed in their flying togs, 
all neatly cleaned and pressed. Pooling their resources 
they counted exactly $2.36 between them, as they 
walked out of the hotel lobby. Along the main 
street the stores were beginning to open for the 
day’s business. The children peered into this window 
and that, roaming from one side of the street to an¬ 
other. 

Finally they came to a florist shop. A young col¬ 
ored boy was sweeping the floor and an elderly man 
was removing flowers from a large ice box, as the 


55 





56 


Flying the States 


children walked in the wide double doorway. The 
sky was overcast, the storm had evidently passed out 
to sea. Although it was just after eight A.M. day¬ 
light was not fully upon them this mid-winter morn¬ 
ing. 

“Good morning, Mr. Florist,” said Kathryn, Janet 
Lee repeating the same words after her in parrot-like 
fashion. 

“Good morning, young ladies,” replied the elderly 
gentleman, “what brings you two ladies out so early 
this damp morning?” he continued. 

“We want to buy some flowers. Lots and lots of 
flowers,” Janet Lee added. “The prettiest ones you 
have for $2.36.” 

“Well now, you don’t say! A whole two dollars 
and thirty-six cents worth? Going to buy me out, I 
take it,” replied the old gentleman with a twinkle 
in his eye. 

“Can we really get all these flowers for $2.36— 
can we really?’’ seriously asked the younger sister 
as her eyes wandered over the bunches of roses, car¬ 
nations, sweet peas, and violets. 

“Well, I guess the two Hutchinson children can,” 
he replied. 

“How’d you know us?” asked Kathryn. 




Kathryn and Janet Lee 
























Three States on a Rainy Day 


59 


“Everybody in Dover knows about you two young' 
sters by now, especially after seeing a picture of you 
all on the front page of this morning’s paper,” an' 
swered the florist. “Besides, those flying togs are 
strange costumes for Doverites,” he added. 

“Mr. Florist,” said Kathryn, “today is our mother’s 
and daddy’s wedding anniversary and Janet Lee and 
I want to surprise them with a present, so we thought 
flowers would be the nicest present we could buy 
for $2.36 ” 

“Well, well, well, now let me see.” The florist 
considered the matter gravely as he looked over the 
stock of flowers. 

“Can we have red roses, Mister?” asked Janet Lee. 

“American Beauties!” broke in Kathryn. 

“You surely can have American Beauty Roses,” 
replied the florist in a firm voice, “and plenty of 
them, too!” 

So the old gentleman made up a beautiful box of 
three dozen American Beauty roses, with green fern 
mingled among the long stems. He took care to make 
even the outside of the long box look attractive, 
with red ribbon tied in a big bow. He charged the 
children exactly $2.00. Actually he would have liked 
to give them the roses free, but wisely felt they 



6o 


Flying the States 


would get more real satisfaction from spending their 
savings on this particular occasion. 

Excitedly Janet Lee and Kathryn took turns carry- 
ing the long box as they hurried back to the hotel. 
They ran up the stairs to their suite on the second 
floor. Here they made their presentation to their 
mother and father. 

So the day started on a very happy note. The 
family felt in extra high spirits as they set out at 
about eleven o'clock for the private office of the Gov¬ 
ernor of Delaware, Charles D. Buck. This tall dis¬ 
tinguished gentleman greeted each member of the 
Hutchinson family individually, and in a most genial 
manner. He told Janet Lee and Kathryn humorous 
stories about the town jail and the famous whipping 
post, while Colonel and Mrs. Hutchinson listened 
with keen interest. When the Scroll was presented, 
the Governor read it most carefully and then affixed 
his signature as the second state governor to sign. 

The court house, State building, and most of the 
Government buildings face the park square and it 
is in this square that public whippings are still given 
to those found guilty by the court for malicious 
crimes, such as wife-beating. Delaware is about the 
only state that maintains a public whipping post. 



Three States on a Rainy Day 


61 


From the state's low crime record, it can be in- 
ferred that the whipping post is most effective. 

For the first time in their lives the children saw 
the inside of a jail, when the family was shown 
through by the County Sheriff. Governor went along 
too, and the prisoners, who were about ninety per 
cent Negroes, seemed to be particularly happy that 
iron bars separated them from “this yere African 
wildcat," as one big Negro called him. 

The family climbed into the plane about two 
o'clock that afternoon, in the midst of a heavy rain. 
Colonel Hutchinson had delayed their departure 
from the hotel after lunch, thinking the downpour 
might let up. But the rain kept coming down stead¬ 
ily, so he decided to try and reach Harrisburg, the 
Capital of Pennsylvania, in spite of the downpour. 

The pasture which had been selected for a landing 
field was very muddy. The Colonel warmed up his 
motor while slowly taxiing through the mire toward 
the west end of the field for a take-off, heading into 
the easterly wind. 

In reaching this far corner of the field he locked 
the brakes, gave the motor full throttle and pushed 
the wheel forward to lift the tail before the plane 
started to roll. As the brakes were released the plane 



62 


Flying the States 


shot forward, slipping and sliding in the mud, but 
once in the air, gathered flying speed safely under 
full control. 

Hardly 500 feet off the ground the plane was bare- 
ly visible in the low-hanging, misty rain clouds. And 
still, it rained—a steady downpour. At times the 
Colonel was practically "hedge hopping, 1 " that is, try¬ 
ing to keep the ground in view rather than fly blind 
the comparatively short distance to Harrisburg. For¬ 
tunately Delaware is fairly level and the family found 
little danger, even in the rain. They crossed the 
Chesapeake Bay at its narrowest point and flew over 
the famous, mile-long, two-deck toll bridge that spans 
the Susquehanna River, between Havre De Grace 
and Perryville, Maryland. Here, on a clear day one 
can see the Government hospital buildings at Perry 
Point, and the Aberdeen Proving Grounds. Follow¬ 
ing this historical river from its mouth, where it 
empties into the bay, the plane flew steadily north¬ 
ward, over country that gradually became rolling 
and hilly. 

Soon they reached the famous Conowingo Dam, 
a giant power project that supplies electricity to a 
number of large cities within a 150-mile range. 

Janet Lee was cutting out paper dolls and Kathryn 




Three States on a Rainy Day 


63 


was playing with Governor, dangling a piece of pa- 
per tied to a string into his private compartment. 
He would lie on his back and play with the paper 
as a little kitten would do on a living room floor. 

As they crossed over the dam, Mrs. Hutchinson, 
who was sitting beside her husband, watching the 
scene below, said: 

“Well, George, flying over this spot should bring 
back some—shall we say, pleasant memories.” 

“Now, Blanche, you shouldn't remind me of acci¬ 
dents in this kind of weather,” he answered. 

But they both remembered the time some years 
back when Colonel Hutchinson, flying from the 
races at Laurel, Maryland, to Philadelphia, flew over 
this very spot. The three men who accompanied him 
were anxious to take some snapshot pictures of the 
dam from the air. So he made a number of wide 
circles as he kept the plane very low. At the worst 
possible moment the camshaft in the motor broke in 
two, the terrific vibration loosened the motor in its 
bed, and the entire motor fell out of the plane into 
the water below. 

This, of course, made the plane tail heavy, but 
Colonel Hutchinson, thinking fast, rushed his three 
passengers forward as he adjusted the stabiliser and 



64 


Flying the States 


worked the controls. In this manner he partially 
balanced the plane and managed to set it down in a 
wooded area on the north bank of the river. Un¬ 
doubtedly it was a miraculous landing without the 
slightest personal injury, but the plane was a com¬ 
plete wreck, twisted and torn by tree branches. 

Since that accident, however, both planes and mo¬ 
tors have had many improvements, and today the 
family felt secure in their latest model of closed, 
cabin monoplane. 

Listening in on the radio, Hutchinson learned that 
all mail planes had been grounded in the eastern 
Pennsylvanian area. Rather than alarm the family 
unnecessarily, he kept this information to himself, 
and guided the plane along the course of the Sus¬ 
quehanna River, barely 200 feet above the ground. 
With the heavy rain beating on the wings and wind¬ 
shield, they followed the river closely as it wound 
its way toward Harrisburg, the capital of the Key¬ 
stone State, Pennsylvania. 

Late on that miserable afternoon in January the 
family landed on the very wet Harrisburg Airport, 
on the south side of the river. The airport attend¬ 
ants were surprised to see any plane at all during 
this weather, and especially amazed when the two 



Three States on a Rainy Day 


65 


children, followed by Governor, stepped out of the 
monoplane. 

Anxious to be on their way, the family was driven 
immediately to the mansion of Governor John S. 
Fisher, where the Governor and his lovely grand¬ 
children greeted them warmly. While the children 
were entertained by the lion cub, Colonel Hutchin¬ 
son and Governor Fisher retired to the library 
where the Governor read the Scroll and signed his 
name as the third chief executive. 

Governor Fisher's daughter, Mrs. Hutchinson, and 
the three grandchildren, with Janet Lee and Kathryn 
laughed at the funny antics of the lion mascot, as he 
maneuvered round a bowl full of goldfish, trying 
to figure out just how he could get one of his big 
wobbly paws into the small bowl to catch one of the 
darting objects. He cocked his big head from side 
to side and switched his weight from left to right. 
Then he put the finishing touch to his performance 
by thrusting his big paw squarely in the gold fish 
bowl just as the Colonel and Governor Fisher re¬ 
turned to the room. Everyone roared with laughter 
as the lion cub quickly withdrew his wet paw and 
shook it vigorously, while the fish darted furiously 
about the bowl. But the bowl didn't overturn. 



66 


Flying the States 


The Colonel quickly snapped the leather leash to 
the cub’s harness to avoid a possible accident. Janet 
Lee and Kathryn had released Governor purposely 
to show how perfectly well-mannered he was, and 
gentle too, but this time he nearly proved otherwise. 

The family was just about to leave when a number 
of news and camera man arrived on the scene. This 
meant posing for pictures with Governor Fisher and 
his family, the lion cub included. 

When the picture-taking was over, the Flying Fam¬ 
ily left this friendly governor and his family in their 
lovely home on River Drive to continue their flight. 
Taking only enough time to eat a hearty meal, they 
returned to the airport, and in a few minutes they 
all were winging their way toward Trenton, the 
capital of New Jersey. 

And still it rained. The time passed and dusk was 
upon them as they circled the Mercer County Air¬ 
port. No sooner had they landed and taxied to the 
Administration Building than a man brought Colonel 
Hutchinson word that Governor Larsen was ill at 
his home in Perth Amboy and had asked that the 
Scroll be brought to him there. 

So without leaving the plane the family once again 
took to the air, this time headed for Newark. Flying 



Three States on a Rainy Day 


67 


over Washington’s Landing, the historical site where 
General Washington crossed the Delaware, the plane 
headed northeast into the rain and darkness. Flying 
low, guided by compass and the lights of moving 
automobiles on the highways below, Colonel Hutch' 
inson piloted the plane on a true course over New 
Brunswick, Rahway, Elizabeth, and the wide soft 
meadows surrounding the very busy Newark Air' 
port, which they reached twenty minutes after leav- 
ing Trenton. 

Newark Airport is the eastern terminus of all the 
major airlines and is probably the busiest airport in 
the world. On this rainy night the arrival of the 
Flying Family in their plane, carrying a Scroll from 
the President of the United States to the forty'eight 
state governors in their respective state capitals, 
added another historical event to the Visitor’s Regis' 
try of this great air center. 

On landing, the family was driven immediately 
to Perth Amboy and to the home of Governor 
Morgan F. Larsen. 

Here, welcomed by his young and attractive wife, 
they were ushered into the Governor’s bedroom, 
where he lay propped up in bed, recovering from a 
severe attack of influenza. When he learned that the 



68 


Flying the States 


cub had been left out in the car with the chauffeur, 
he insisted that he be brought up, too. So once more 
the comical antics of the family pet brought a great 
deal of fun and laughter to everyone, including the 
patient. This time it was on account of the lion’s 
interest in Governor Larsen’s feet, moving under the 
bed covers. He was determined to investigate, it 
seemed, so Colonel Hutchinson placed him on the 
bed beside the Governor, who stroked him very cau- 
tiously. But the cub’s interest had to remain un- 
satisfied, for whether purposely or no, Governor Lar¬ 
sen did not move his feet all the while the lion was 
on the bed. 

So the fourth Governor signed the Scroll. And 
the family with their unusual mascot returned his 
kindness in receiving them in his sick room, by leav¬ 
ing him smiling as a result of their efforts to cheer 
him up and help him forget his ills. 

Back in Newark, following a welcome dinner, 
George, Blanche, Kathryn, and Janet Lee were soon 
fast asleep in their hotel beds, with Governor sam¬ 
pling his fourth bath tub bed. 



Chapter V 


A CLASSROOM IN THE SKIES 


Next morning the family lost no time in getting 
under way, and shortly after 9:00 A.M. the plane 
was winging its way northward to Hartford, the 
capital of Connecticut. 

On this clear cold day, little Janet Lee and Kath- 
ryn had to go to school like other children, but in¬ 
stead of the usual brick school house they were 
taught their lessons in a Classroom in the Skies. 

The family monoplane seats five people comfort¬ 
ably, two up front, and three behind, as in most 
automobiles. Wide glass windows that roll up and 
down are on each side of the cabin. In front, is a 


69 





70 


Flying the States 


large glass windshield, affording clear vision. Be- 
hind the rear seat is the baggage compartment and 
the lion cub's private cage, with its special window 
shaped like a ship's porthole. 

Directly over the baggage compartment, attached 
to the rear wall of the cabin, is a series of large pull¬ 
down maps, operating on a roll together with a five- 
foot blackboard. These are used for school work. 

The cabin is about six feet from floor to ceiling, 
affording ample head room. A small aisle separates 
the two front seats and there is considerable space be¬ 
tween the front and rear seat. The latter is really 
one wide seat, where if desired, the children can 
stretch out for a nap side by side. But most of the 
time they are kneeling on the seat, facing to the rear, 
where they drop pieces of paper tied to a string into 
Governor's cage, playing with their pet lion as they 
would play with an ordinary kitten. 

The instrument panel is a most fascinating sight 
with its array of varied instruments, from radio to 
directional gyro. The plane is operated with dual 
control wheels, but Colonel Hutchinson has had the 
controls on the right side removed to make more 
room for Mrs. Hutchinson or the children when they 
occupy the seat next to him. 



A Classroom in the Skies 


7i 


The seats are all finished in soft, brown leather. 
Fawn-colored broadcloth covers the side walls and 
ceiling. Safety belts are fitted to each seat and, of 
course, there are the usual fire extinguishers, flares, 
and first aid kits. 

“Well, Mother, don’t you think we’d better begin 
school?” Colonel Hutchinson asked his wife, who 
was sitting behind him this morning with Janet Lee 
and Kathryn at her side. 

“Yes, I do,” she replied. “I’m only waiting for 
you to start the morning exercises.” So Colonel 
Hutchinson lowered the windows on either side of 
the cabin, and in spite of the bitter cold and roar of 
the motor, began his regular deep-breathing exercises, 
in which the family joined. Kathryn quickly moved 
to the seat next to her father and the family began 
their morning setting-up exercises, 5,000 feet in the 
air. While he counted — one, two, three, four — 
Blanche, Kathryn, and Janet Lee each followed his 
movements in rhythm. This lasted for ten minutes, 
during which time Colonel Hutchinson guided the 
plane with his feet on the rudder, only once having 
to touch the aileron control with his hands to offset 
a sudden gust of wind. 

Following the setting-up exercises, came singing. 



72 


Flying the States 


They started with My Country } tis of Thee, fol- 
lowed by The Star Spangled Banner, Killarney, Polly - 
Wolly Doodle, Dixie, Pac\ Up Your Troubles, Happy 
Days, and Happy Landings, the whole family entering 
heartily into the spirit of the songs. 

Even singing plain scales, time and time again, 
which also was a part of their daily singing lesson. 
The Colonel had spent many years as a choir boy, 
so he made a good teacher and song leader. 

For the next half hour Mother took the part of 
teacher, reading aloud from history and geography 
books, taking care to select subjects concerning the 
country over which they were flying. This time it 
was about Peter Stuyvesant, Hendrick Hudson, Man¬ 
hattan Island, the Hudson River, and the Indian 
tribes. She dwelt briefly on each topic, taking care 
to point out the towns, rivers, lakes, population, 
areas, products, and industries. 

Maps of New York, Connecticut, and the eastern 
half of the United States were in turn unrolled and 
the flight of the plane followed. Towns were marked 
as they were passed, and their population, area and 
chief industry, all clearly explained to the children, 
as a picture from the sky. 

As they neared Hartford, Colonel Hutchinson 



A Classroom in the Skies 


73 


took a hand, asking rapid fire questions, such as: 

“After whom was the Hudson River named?” 

“What is the largest city in the United States?” 

“Where is it?” 

“What is its population?” 

“Where is the source of the Hudson River?” 

“Which Indian tribes were hostile and which were 
friendly to the settlers of eastern New York?” 

“Name three cities on the eastern bank of the 
Hudson River.” 

“Three on the western bank?” 

Then to conclude the morning lesson Janet Lee 
and Kathryn drew as nearly as possible from mem- 
ory, on the blackboard, the route they had just fob 
lowed, noting the names of the most important 
towns, mountains, rivers, lakes, etc. And so during 
this short flight from Newark, New Jersey, to Hart' 
ford, Connecticut, each member of the Hutchinson 
family added to its knowledge. Obtained in such an 
interesting and entertaining manner, it would for' 
ever be indelibly impressed upon the mind of both 
teacher and student. 



Chapter VI 


CONNECTICUT—RHODE ISLAND— 
MASSACHUSETTS 


Landing at Brainard Field the family, plane, cub, 
and all were given a rousing welcome. With little 
loss of time they were driven to the State Capitol 
building and ushered into the private office of Gov' 
emor Wilbur L. Cross, one of the few Democratic 
Governors ever elected to the highest office in the 
State of Connecticut. Governor Cross, on this his 
first official day in office, was in a most happy and 
friendly mood. For him, the visit of the Flying 
Family will long be remembered, as the setting of 
his signature on the Scroll was the first time he had 
signed his name as Governor of Connecticut. 


74 





Connecticut—Rhode Island—Massachusetts 


75 


Anxious to be on their way, after the usual taking 
of news photographs for the press, the family said 
good-bye to the Governor and hurried to a waiting 
automobile. 

On their way back to the airport Colonel Hutch¬ 
inson stopped at a butcher shop to buy a large bone 
and several pounds of raw beef for the lion cub's 
daily ration. 

Upon reaching the field, Governor's lunch was 
served to him in his private compartment, while the 
family plane once again took wing, this time headed 
for Providence, the capital of Rhode Island, the 
smallest state in the Union. 

It took only twenty minutes flying time, from Hart¬ 
ford, the insurance capital of America, until the 
plane landed at the What Cheer Airport in Paw¬ 
tucket, the air base for Providence. 

Here at the State Capitol building, Governor Nor¬ 
man S. Case signed the Scroll as the sixth Governor 
on the program. 

Governor Case, a tall, dark gentleman with a trim 
mustache, had just been re-elected to office and was 
today starting his second four-year term as Governor 
of Rhode Island. 



7 6 


Flying the States 


As the various states were visited, and the signa- 
tures on the beautiful Scroll begin to multiply, the 
real purpose of the family's flight to the forty-eight 
state capitols became more and more impressed upon 
not only the Hutchinson family, themselves, but 
upon everyone with whom they came in contact. 
The governors and their associates, the people and 
the press all gave friendly praise and Godspeed to 
these family ambassadors of goodwill. Meanwhile, 
in Janet Lee, Kathryn, Colonel and Mrs. Hutchinson 
the flight had developed a spirit of sportsmanship, 
like the playing of a game, with the goal the success- 
ful completion of the Scroll. 

So with each fresh signature they were anxious 
to hurry on to the next state and the next governor, 
trying to make as many states as possible each day. 
Boston was the next capital on the list. 

It may seem hard for those not accustomed to the 
speed of the airplane to realise that within fifteen 
minutes of leaving Providence the Hutchinson fam¬ 
ily had landed safely on the East Boston Airport, 
where a great crowd extended a hearty welcome. 

Once again, they were rushed off to visit the third 
Governor in one day. 

With a police motorcycle escort leading the way, 



Connecticut—Rhode Island—Massachusetts 


77 


the family drove to the beautiful Copley Plaz,a Hotel, 
where Governor Joseph B. Ely, the new Democratic 
Governor of Massachusetts, had his private suite and 
where he was giving an informal buffet supper to a 
number of friends, following his official inauguration. 

Janet Lee, Kathryn, and the cub immediately be- 
came the center of attraction among the Governor’s 
guests, while Governor Ely conferred with Colonel 
Hutchinson relative to signing the Scroll. 

In these few short weeks that the cub had been a 
member of the family, he had grown considerably 
and had become quite attached to them all, particu¬ 
larly Janet Lee. Probably this was because she fed 
him on the sly, apart from his regular one meal a day. 

Janet Lee and Governor would wrestle together 
almost as though he were a puppy. Sometimes he 
would take time off to rest, sitting on top of Janet 
as she lay on the floor. It was a queer sight to see 
the cub trail after Janet Lee everywhere she went, 
without even a leash. 

At the reception Janet Lee and Governor were in 
the mood for a good rough-and-tumble. One minute 
he would have all four of his big, wobbly paws 
wrapped tightly about one of her legs, gnawing and 
growling and refusing to let go, until she was down 



78 


Flying the States 


on the carpeted floor with him. Each time she at" 
tempted to get up, he would grab one of her legs 
again and back on the floor they would go, rolling 
over. 

The heavy, whipcord material of Janet Lee’s flying 
breeches, together with boots and leather jacket, 
made a suitable attire for this rough play, and both 
the lion and the little girl were having a grand time. 

The odd expressions and cute poses of the cub 
made him fascinating to watch, particularly when 
he cocked his big head from side to side, with his 
ears straight up as he studied some movement, noise 
or object. 

The laughter and play were interrupted when 
Colonel Hutchinson and Governor Ely entered the 
room. Immediately a more serious hush fell on the 
gathering as the Governor told of the family’s mis" 
sion and read aloud to his assembled guests the mes" 
sage written on the Scroll. In the presence of his 
friends he affixed his signature as Governor of the 
historic state of Massachusetts, the seventh state gow 
ernor to sign. 

As with Governor Cross of Connecticut, this was 
Governor Ely’s first official signature as Governor of 
Massachusetts. 




Connecticut—Rhode Island—Massachusetts 


79 


As nightfall had already fallen, putting an end to 
further flying for that day, the family remained for 
a further pleasant visit with the Governor's family 
and friends, until the children grew tired and bed¬ 
time drew near. 

Then, another night, another hotel, another bath 
tub for the cub, ended that day's adventuring. 









Chapter VII 


THE LION GOES TOBOGGANING 


The morning papers carried pictures of the family 
with Governor Ely. As the Hutchinsons had taken 
rooms in the Copley Plaza for the night, they had 
the pleasure of meeting him once more in the lobby 
after breakfast, as they were leaving for the airport. 

Governor Ely has the honor of being the first 
Democratic Governor of Massachusetts in 18 years. 
He is a sincere man with strong character and per' 
sonality plainly written on his scholarly face. Having 
grown children of his own, he seemed deeply iim 
pressed to see an entire family performing a progres' 
sive task in the interest of their native land. 


80 





The Lion Goes Tobogganing 


81 


As he walked to the door through the hotel lobby, 
with the Hutchinson family, he told of having to 
sign extradition papers late the previous evening for 
a man accused of murder in another state. This part 
of being governor would always upset him, he said, 
and he added how much more pleasant it was to 
sign the Scroll than papers that were only stepping 
stones to the taking of the life of a fellow being. 

He patted the children’s cheeks and wished all 
four of the family happy landings, as he hurried 
. toward his waiting automobile, while the family en¬ 
tered their car to be driven to the airport. 

On their way they passed the beautiful buildings 
of one of the greatest technical schools in America, 
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. On over 
narrow bridges, they went, along the waterfront with 
its many vehicles of all description, the noise of 
street and harbor traffic all adding to the strange mu¬ 
sic of the busy metropolis on this cloudy morning. 

When they arrived at the East Boston Airport, 
Colonel Hutchinson lost no time in bundling the 
family into their Flying Home, and away they went 
toward Concord, the capital of New Hampshire. 

Up to this time Boston had extended to the family 
their heartiest welcome. The weather, which at this 



82 


Flying the States 


time of the year is apt to be aviation's greatest handh 
cap, had so far been not unfavorable. From now on 
almost any kind of treacherous weather might be ex¬ 
pected in this far northeastern part of the country. 

So it was not surprising to Colonel Hutchinson 
to see the ground covered with snow as the plane 
flew still farther northward. Soon more snow began 
to fall. First lightly, then more heavily. Fortunately 
the snow fall was steady with no driving wind. The 
distance from Boston to Concord is comparatively 
short, so Colonel Hutchinson elected to fly through 
the storm. Flying in a heavy snowfall has its thrills, 
and naturally, Janet Lee and Kathryn kept their faces 
pressed against the windows, watching the snow beat 
against the wings and struts. 

In this kind of weather school lessons were put 
aside, and Mrs. Hutchinson checked off each ten 
miles on the maps as her husband busied himself 
with instruments, radio reports and the actual pilot' 
ing of the plane. 

Flying only a few hundred feet off the ground, the 
Colonel fortunately found time to relax, even under 
these trying conditions, since railroad tracks led 
straight into Concord, passing the airport there. Ever 
since flying began, railroad tracks have been a god' 



The Lion Goes Tobogganing 


83 


send to all pilots. Of course, in later years pilots have 
been taught to rely on their instruments, much to 
their advantage. But in a case like this the double 
check of both instruments and railroad track gave 
the father of this flying family a feeling of double 
security, as the plane each minute drew nearer to 
Concord. 

Flying in a snowstorm is a strange experience. The 
world about one seems quiet and everything within 
sight has a feeling of softness, or rather gentleness. 
Even the noise of the powerful motor sounds like a 
gentle purr. Giant snow flakes hit the windows and 
slid off into space, as the plane roars onward. 

The short distance from Boston to Concord was 
covered without incident. Colonel Hutchinson was 
careful to circle the airport several times, studying 
the ground conditions of the snow-mantled airport. 

He brought the plane in as slowly as possible for 
a gentle landing. As the wheels touched the top of 
the snow, he realised that it was deeper than he estb 
mated. He let the tail hit first, then slightly gunned 
the motor and the plane rolled only a short distance. 

Even with full throttle the plane would not budge, 
once it had settled in the deep snow. 

The airport attendants, anticipating such trouble, 



8 4 


Flying the States 


had a tractor ready for just such an emergency, and 
in a very few minutes the plane was towed into the 
hangar. 

Governor was very amusing, as he romped in the 
snow, rolled over and over on his back and spit out 
one mouthful of snow after the other. To see an 
African lion cub with his whiskers and face covered 
with snow is a very funny sight. At first he stepped 
very cautiously as he came in contact with this 
strange substance, lifting up his paws one after the 
other and vigorously shaking the snow from each one 
in turn. But, as soon as he became confident that 
the snow wouldn’t hurt him, he started to race like a 
dog in the woods. 

As it was only mid-morning, little time was lost 
in reaching the Capitol building, where John S. 
Winant, the Governor of New Hampshire, wel¬ 
comed Colonel and Mrs. Hutchinson together with 
Janet Lee and Kathryn, each in turn. 

After the Governor had signed the Scroll, Colonel 
Hutchinson could not help but comment on the small, 
neat and most unusual signature. Governor Winant 
told briefly of his work as a professor at Harvard 
University and of how he had taught several of 
Colonel Hutchinson’s friends. This led to gossip of 



The Lion Goes Tobogganing 


85 


the Colonel's boyhood days in Virginia and of mutual 
friends who had later studied at Harvard. 

The Governor carefully explained the history of 
the numerous flags that adorned the halls of the great 
Capitol building, while Janet Lee and Kathryn were 
awed at the stories of great battles in which many 
of these flags had played historical parts. 

With the feeling that they had gained from this 
scholarly gentleman not only a lesson in history, but 
also in how to be really human and still maintain 
the dignity of high office, the family bade adieu to 
the Governor of New Hampshire. 

Back at the airport the Colonel learned that the 
snowfall had been so heavy around Montpelier, Ver¬ 
mont, their next stop, that it would be impossible 
to land a plane without skiis on the airport there. 
The highways, too, were almost impassable. 

In order to lose as little time as possible, the Colo¬ 
nel hired an open biplane equipped with skiis, bor¬ 
rowed a heavy fur-lined flying suit and took off alone 
for Montpelier. 

Left behind with at least three hours to spend as 
they wished, the other members of the Flying Family, 
together with Governor, accepted an invitation to go 
tobogganing, and the fun began. 



86 


Flying the States 


There is a very steep hill not far from the airport 
where all lovers of sledding and skiing usually gather. 

On this winding mile-and-a-half snow slide, Janet 
Lee and Kathryn had the time of their lives, whining 
down the steep incline with six other youngsters on 
one long, flat bamboo toboggan. Meantime, Mother 
held Governor on a leather leash at the top of the 

hill. 

Because of the heavy snow, schools had closed for 
the half day and the hillside was packed with boys 
and girls. Some grown-ups too, mingled among the 
crowd. 

Naturally the presence of the family and the cub 
was an added attraction, so as the time wore on more 
and more people came to watch, or coast on the hill. 

Janet Lee and Kathryn, after a great deal of plead¬ 
ing, finally persuaded their mother to let them take 
the cub down the slide with them. This would be 
loads of fun to all the youngsters on the hill. Right 
away everyone stopped sliding and waited at the top 
ready to follow on their own sleds, as soon as the 
big, flat toboggan started down with its eight passen¬ 
gers and the lion. 

Governor seemed unwilling at first, but when 
Janet Lee sat down on number one seat and pulled 



The Lion Goes Tobogganing 


87 


the cub between her legs in a half sitting position, he 
seemed perfectly satisfied. 

Kathryn sat directly behind her sister, while both 
children held tightly to the cub's leash. 

Hardly had the other six youngsters taken their 
places when some one, without warning, gave the big 
toboggan a strong push and away it went down the 
hill, with every other sled on the hill darting after 
it. Halfway down the lion decided there was too 
much wind in his face, and the screaming of the chib 
dren on the toboggan with him, besides those on the 
other sleds, started him roaring, too. 

What a sight—an African lion cub tobogganing 
in Vermont! 

But there was too much speed for Governor. So 
he started to climb back toward the rear of the to- 
boggan, growling and roaring. He scrambled rough" 
ly past Janet Lee, then Kathryn, as they both tried to 
hold him back on the leash. In all this excitement 
Janet Lee fell off the toboggan, dragging her sister 
with her, letting go of the leash as they fell. The 
other youngsters deciding it might be pleasanter to 
hit the ground than to wrestle with a lion on a flying 
sled, each rolled off the wild riding toboggan into 
the soft snow. 



Flying the States 


By the time the toboggan reached the bottom of 
the hill, it was empty of human cargo. But the Fly¬ 
ing Family’s mascot was sitting up perfectly straight, 
squinting his eyes in the wind, patiently waiting for 
the new-fangled contraption to come to a stop. 

All the children in Concord seemed to be in the 
crowd that walked back up the long hillside, pulling 
their sleds behind them, listening to the eight young¬ 
sters who rode with the lion as they dramatically 
told how they had rolled off the speeding toboggan. 

When Kathryn and Janet Lee reached their mother 
at the top of the hill, she already knew most of the 
story and everybody joined in the laughter. 






Chapter VIII 


SNOW—SNOW—AND SNOW 


Winging his way over the rugged Green Mountain 
country, Colonel Hutchinson guided the open bi- 
plane toward Montpelier. Flying in an open cockpit 
was quite a contrast to the warm, comfortable cabin 
of his own plane. 

Taking off from the snow-covered airport at Con¬ 
cord on skiis had been a new experience, but he han¬ 
dled the plane with ease. As he sighted the hangars 
on the Montpelier airport, he wondered if landing on 
skiis would be as simple as the take-off, particularly 
here where the snow was much deeper. 

To insure a safe landing he circled the small airport 
89 





90 


Flying the States 


several times, skimming over the ground only a few 
feet to make sure of rises in the ground, or objects 
that might be covered by the snow. The third time 
around he made a long, slow glide to a perfect land' 
ing. 

Following his wired instructions, an automobile 
waited to take the Colonel to the State Capitol. In 
spite of the slippery highways and the falling snow, 
little time was lost in reaching the Governor's office. 

Stanley C. Wilson, the newly elected governor, 
welcomed Colonel Hutchinson to Vermont. Know' 
ing that he was anxious to return to New Hamp' 
shire before nightfall, the Governor promptly af' 
fixed his signature to the Scroll. 

The Governor's secretary copied the reading of the 
Scroll in shorthand, together with the Governor's 
interview with the Colonel, so that the story might 
be given to the press. 

Wishing him Happy Landings and praising his 
courage to fly in the snow, Governor Wilson bade 
the Colonel good'bye, while his secretary telephoned 
the airport to have his plane gassed and warmed up 
upon the Colonel's arrival. 

A half hour later Colonel Hutchinson was well on 
his way back to Concord, while the winds grew 



Snow — Snow—and Snow 


9i 


stronger and more gusty, and the snowfall became 
heavier. Head winds slowed down the plane’s cruis" 
ing speed. Even with wide open throttle it was im" 
possible to average over seventy-five miles an hour. 

Tired, cold, but mentally relieved, the Colonel 
landed at Concord just as the family was driving up 
to the hangar entrance in the airport manager’s auto" 
mobile. 

As the plane taxied up to the hangar, Janet Lee 
hurried out of the car and ran to tell her father all 
about Governor’s sleigh ride. As she forgot to close 
the automobile door in her haste, the cub quickly 
scampered off the back seat where he had been sit" 
ting, and followed his young mistress in the snow. 

Seeing the cub and Janet Lee running toward the 
plane, the Colonel cut the switch to make sure the 
lion would not get mixed up in the whirling metal 
propeller. 

Running up to her father as he jumped down from 
the cockpit, Janet shouted with excitement: 

“Oh, Daddy—Daddy—Governor went down a big 
hill about a hundred miles an hour, and all us kids 
fell off and he stayed on the big sled just as easy 
as pie!” 

Partly because of bad weather and the feeling that 



92 


Flying the States 


he had enough snow flying for one day, the Colonel 
decided to spend the night in Concord. So the family 
added to their hotel experience, and Governor passed 
another night in a strange bath tub. 

All during the night the snow continued to fall 
and when the family reached the airport the next 
morning, it appeared unlikely that any plane on 
wheels could possibly take off from the deep snow. 

But the Colonel was determined. With the help 
of the airport attendants, three triangular snow plows 
were rigged up from a pile of lumber, stored in the 
corner of the hangar. 

In fan-shaped fashion these crude wooden ploughs 
were hitched behind the tractor and drawn back and 
forth across the runway in the direction of the wind. 

The family and everyone present stood on the 
ploughs to weight them down, so that the snow could 
more readily be brushed aside. This was fun for the 
children. In fact, everyone entered into the spirit 
of the task, singing as they balanced themselves on 
the slow moving ploughs. 

It took several hours to clear a runway suitable 
for a take-off, and this was packed down by driving 
several automobiles over and over the pathway the 
plows had cleared. 



Snow — Snow—and Snow 


93 


By the time the family was ready to leave, quite 
a crowd had gathered at the airport to see them off. 
When the plane shot down the narrow runway, a 
great cheer went up as the Flying Home took the air. 
The trim monoplane banked and made a tight circle 
over the Concord folk waving from the airport 
grounds, dipped its wings and disappeared in the 
snow'filled skies. 

And the snow continued to fall, steadily. The 
children were seeing more snow than ever before in 
all their lives. 

As the plane sped northward toward Augusta, the 
capital of Maine, Colonel Hutchinson wondered just 
how he would land on the small Augusta airport. 

To keep this worry from his mind until he reached 
his destination the Colonel started to sing aloud: 
“Here comes the Flying Family, 

The Flying Family, 

We're in the air once again. 

Just hear our motors roaring, 

While we are soaring 
To show the way to boys and to girls 
So that some day you may 
All have your fun and play, 

While flying high over the good old U.S.A.” 

“Come join the Flying Family, 

The Flying Family and see the 
World from the skies.” 



94 


Flying the States 


Singing to the tune of Well Make a Happy Landing, 
all four of the Hutchinsons joined in the song, as 
their covered wagon in the skies flew one hundred 
and fifty miles an hour through the snowstorm. 

When he reached the Kennebec River, a few miles 
east of Augusta, the Colonel turned westward and 
followed the river, and in a few minutes was circling 
for a landing in the tenth state capital. 

There was not a wheel track of any kind on the 
National Guard parade grounds, used as an emer- 
gency airport. The long and heavy snowfall had 
made the snow on the ground here deeper than in 
any other place where the family plane had landed 
up to now. 

In Montpelier the task of landing had been simple 
with a ski-equipped plane. To land a cabin plane in 
deep snow, with his own loved ones" safety depend¬ 
ing upon his skill, caused the Colonel to become more 
cautious than ever before. As the plane circled and 
circled the field, crowds began to hurry from all 
directions toward the parade grounds. The air was 
tense with the excitement of anticipating an accident. 
An accident to an airplane would indeed be a new 
thrill for most of them. 

In the plane, Colonel Hutchinson warned his fam- 



Snow — Snow—and Snow 


95 


ily it was possible for the plane to turn over on its 
back. So he made sure the safety belts were securely 
fastened about each one. 

Presently he said: “All right now, we’re going to 
try it. I’ll set her down as easily as I can. Don’t be 
afraid. Just relax. If we do turn over, the plane 
may be damaged, but none of us will get hurt, so 
don’t be frightened. Here we go, down. . . .” 

The big plane slowly, very slowly approached the 
ground. It came nearer and nearer to the high tern 
sion wires surrounding the field. 

To the people on the ground it appeared certain 
that the plane was going to hit the wires. A great 
cry went up from the crowd, as a sudden gust of 
wind dropped the plane suddenly, just before it 
reached the wires. The pilot jammed open wide the 
throttle, and pulled back on the wheel in time to 
shoot up and over the high-powered electric wires. 

A great sigh of relief went up from the hundreds 
who by now had reached the field. 

Again the black and orange monoplane circled and 
slowly glided towards the field. 

“I’ll come in higher this time, Blanche,” said the 
Colonel to his wife. “I guess I slowed her too much 
that time.” 



96 


Flying the States 


“Do be careful, George.” 

“Don’t worry about Daddy, Mother,” said Katlv 
ryn, her voice fully expressing the unfailing confb 
dence she had in his ability. 

“Gee, this is some thrill!” broke in the youngest 
member of the family. “Do you think we’ll turn over 
and over, Daddy?” she asked, as though it would be 
fun. 

“Cross your fingers, Sister, and we’ll soon find out,” 
answered her father, as he kept his eyes on the wires 
just ahead. 

This time the plane cleared the wires by at least 
twenty feet, then it went into a quick, momentary 
steep slide slip, straightened up, and landed kenplop 
in the deep snow. 

Slowly the nose went down and the tail came up. 
It looked as though the plane would go over. 

“There it goes—there it goes!” shouted the crowd, 
as if one voice had spoken. 

“It looks as if we’re going. Sit tight. We’ll be all 
right, said the Colonel to his family reassuringly, 
as he cut the switch. 

The propeller blade struck the snow and the plane 
for a split second poised in a diving position. Quick 
as a flash Colonel Hutchinson snapped off his safety 



Snow — Snow—and Snow 


97 


belt and jumped over his seat into the back of the 
cabin, holding on to the seat for support. The weight 
of his 160 pounds was sufficient to throw the balance 
of the plane in the opposite direction, and it settled 
back in a normal landing position, without any harm 
or damage. 

"Oh boy! That was something, Daddy!” cried 
Janet Lee. 

Everyone on the field rushed toward the plane, 
joy and relief on their faces. 

No other plane had landed in Augusta for more 
than a month, and this was the first time in the his- 
tory of the city that a family had flown to Augusta 
in their own plane. 

Once more a tractor had to be used to tow the 
plane to the back of some Government buildings at 
the end of the field, where the motor was covered 
and the plane staked down. As there were no han¬ 
gars, the plane had to be left out in the open, with 
the rear of a building affording the only shelter. 

A new experience awaited the family in the form 
of a horse-driven sleigh, in which they were driven 
to the home of William Tudor Gardiner, the Gover¬ 
nor of Maine. This was also a novel experience for 
the cub mascot and the horse. 



98 


Flying the States 


While his young son and daughter looked on, Gov¬ 
ernor Gardiner affixed his signature to the Scroll. 
Then while the Colonel and Mrs. Hutchinson talked 
with the Governor, the children of both families frol¬ 
icked with the lion. 

And so the tour of the North Atlantic states was 
completed, without mishap. 








Chapter IX 


THE ELEMENTS HAVE THEIR VICTORY 


Once more the Colonel faced the problem of get' 
ting the plane off the ground. This time he elected 
to make a takeoff from the highway, which had 
been packed down by constant automobile and foot 
traffic. 

On each side of the highway telephone and tele' 
graph poles supported many strands of wire. Sev' 
eral private houses and places of business were also 
located along this thoroughfare. The slightest mis' 
judgment, or swaying or sliding of the plane would 
surely spell disaster. 

All these obstacles—the condition of the roadway, 


99 





100 


Flying the States 


the height of the poles, the width of the street, the 
length of run required before a take-off could be 
made, were carefully weighed by Hutchinson as he 
taxied the plane along the highway. 

Again the people of Augusta began to gather as 
word spread that the family was ready to fly away. 

The snow was still falling, but not so heavily. 

After taxiing about fifteen hundred feet west on 
the highway, Colonel Hutchinson locked the right 
brake and swung the plane around to face the oppo- 
site direction, with a blast of the motor. Heading 
into the wind, he locked both brakes and gave the 
motor full throttle while he checked the various in¬ 
strument readings. 

Satisfied that everything was mechanically in or¬ 
der, he pulled out the throttle and turned around in 
his seat and spoke to his family. 

“This is going to be a new experience—taking 
off from a public highway, especially one covered 
with snow. 1 ’ 

“Gee, Daddy, you can do it all right,” broke in 
Janet Lee. 

“I know I can, Sister, but you all must help me by 
keeping perfectly still, and keeping those safety belts 
snapped tight.” 




The Hutchinsons on their way 












/ 












I. '' H i • . 

■ 


























■ 






















■ 








. 




The' Elements Have Their Victory 


103 


Mrs. Hutchinson was a little uneasy, but already 
her belt was buckled and she was willing to trust the 
safety of herself and children to her husband’s hands. 

To the children, however, the hazardous take-off 
was just another thrill. 

“All set, here we go.” And with those words the 
Colonel opened wide the throttle, the motor roared 
and away shot the plane, gathering speed as it headed 
straight as an arrow down the center of the highway. 

Hardly more than five hundred feet were needed 
to gain sufficient speed to fly. As the plane left the 
ground the people lining the roadway waved and 
shouted. 

Once off the ground the plane shot almost straight 
into the air, and much relieved, the family unlocked 
their safety belts and made themselves comfortable 
for the flight to Albany, the capital of New York. 

But their good luck had been overtaxed. Not more 
thcln a half hour out of Augusta, the snowfall became 
heavier and heavier. The wind grew stronger, bufi 
feting the plane about. By radio Colonel Hutchim 
son learned of a bli^ard raging between them and 
Albany. Already they had flown into the outer edge 
of the gale. 

Knowing that it would be too dangerous ahead, 



104 


Flying the States 


he banked around toward the east and headed for 
Portland, Maine, the nearest city with adequate 
airport accommodation. Flying at full throttle, they 
kept just ahead of the oncoming storm. 

Once again they all but hugged the railroad tracks 
that lead into Portland, the largest city in Maine. 

Passing moving trains, watching people run out of 
their houses, attracted by the roar of a motor skim- 
ming over their roof tops, feeling the speed of the 
plane more than ever before as it virtually shot by 
stationery objects, the children were thrilled by this 
race to safety from the elements. 

Having experienced so many landings and take¬ 
offs from the snow during the past few days, the 
Colonel came straight in for a landing, once the Port¬ 
land Airport was sighted. Making a fast landing he 
was able to keep up his speed on the ground suffi¬ 
ciently to reach the hangar. Once inside, the storm 
seemed to break into full force as though in fury at 
the family's escape to safety. 

Inside the hangar the storm and experiences of 
the day were forgotten as the airport attendants and 
the family watched Governor trying to teach man¬ 
ners to a curious Cocker Spaniel who seemed just 
a little too inquisitive. 



The Elements Have Their Victory 


105 


Portland was not on the family's itinerary. So 
no hotel arrangements had been made. The leading 
hotel objected to Governor sleeping in the bath tub, 
so the family went to another hotel whose manage- 
ment was a trifle more humane, if not so highly* 
polished. 

Dinner was followed by an evening in the movies, 
a well-deserved relaxation from the flying trials of 
the past few days. Then to bed, and peaceful well- 
earned sleep. 

During the night the snow had turned to heavy 
rain. When the family reached the airport next 
morning a snow plough had already cleared a run¬ 
way for their take-off. 

Little time was lost in leaving Portland, and the 
next hour was spent at school in the flying class¬ 
room. 

As they neared Pittsfield, Massachusetts, the mo¬ 
tor began to sputter. To Colonel Hutchinson it 
sounded as though water was in the carburetor or 
gas line. Almost directly over the town the motor 
quit entirely. “Quick, Blanche! Buckle on your safety 
belts!" shouted the Colonel to his family as he 
snapped on his own belt. 

The ground was covered with deep snow. The 



Flying the States 


106 

night rains had not been sufficiently heavy to melt 
the snow in this part of Massachusetts. 

With no airport in sight, the Colonel slide-slipped 
into a small rolling field for a landing. But the family 
luck gave out this time. 

When the plane hit the snow the wheels sank in 
deep and she nosed straight up—the propeller strik¬ 
ing the earth, badly bending the blades. 

The plane looked as though it had nose-dived into 
the earth. The tail was straight up in the air with 
the propeller partly covered in the snow. 

It was quite a jump for the family to get down 
from the plane in this position, and they had to wait 
until the crowd, now rushing from all directions, 
reached them before they could get out of the plane. 

Answering question after question, Colonel Hutch¬ 
inson managed to gather his thoughts together suffi¬ 
ciently to throw a borrowed rope over the tail and 
right the plane. He then removed the metal propel¬ 
ler, covered the motor with its regular hood, locked 
the cabin doors, and drove into town with the Chief 
of Motor Vehicles, family, lion and all. 

Once in the downtown section they heard news¬ 
boys shouting “Extra, paper! All about plane nose¬ 
diving on Foote farm! 11 



The' Elements Have Their Victory 


107 


In Pittsfield they boarded a train for Albany, 
New York, just 36 miles away. Once in Albany 
the Colonel sent the family to a hotel while he 
drove out to the Colonial Airway on the Albany 
Airport with the bent propeller, to get it straightened. 

Unfortunately the Airway Company was not 
equipped for this job, so he had to retrace his steps 
to the city. To avoid all possible delay he expressed 
the propeller direct to the manufacturer at Pitts' 
burgh, Pennsylvania, after a lengthy talk over the 
telephone with the company officials. 

So for once the weather won a round over the 
Flying Family, who found themselves grounded for 
several days until the necessary repairs could be 
made. 



Chapter X 


FRANKLIN DELANO ROOSEVELT 


The plane had to remain tied down in an open 
field in Pittsfield until Colonel Hutchinson could 
return with the straightened propeller. Meanwhile, 
the family and the cub would stay in Albany until it 
was possible to set out once more. 

This business of flying forty^eight states in winter 
was proving to be quite a task, with wind and weath' 
er conspiring together to make it as difficult as pos' 
sible. 

Meantime, the family’s adventures and progress 
each day were rapidly becoming national news, and 
the name “Flying Family” a household word. 

108 





Franklin Delano Roosevelt 


109 


The news of the nose dive was flashed over the 
radio and was carried in the newspapers everywhere. 
It brought the family a flood of telegrams and letters 
—some good and some bad. 

With a day of rest ahead, Colonel Hutchinson 
caught up on his mail and made a detailed report to 
Mr. Canter on his adventures and misadventures to 
date, while Mrs. Hutchinson, Janet Lee, and Kath- 
ryn, each in turn were able to write to their many 
friends throughout the country. 

New York, the eleventh state to be visited, had 
presented the most difficult problem so far in the 
family journey. But this experience was child's play 
in comparison to what lay in store for them later. 

On the morning following the forced landing, 
Guernsey Cross, secretary to Governor Roosevelt, 
arranged an eleven o'clock appointment for the fam- 
ily to meet the Governor. This was in the days be- 
fore Mr. Roosevelt became President, and while he 
was still holding office in Albany. 

This smiling gentleman, a family man himself, wel¬ 
comed each member of the Hutchinson family with 
true sincerity. Questioning little Janet Lee and Kath¬ 
ryn in detail, he learned all about the family's adven¬ 
tures and experiences, not only on this trip, but since 



no 


Flying the States 


they began to fly. When they told him their birth' 
place was Baltimore, and that Mother and Daddy 
were from there too, this fact made a still closer link 
of friendship. 

The Governor told the family of his friendship for 
Van Lear Black, a Baltimorian, who had done so 
much for the advent of aviation. He spoke of his 
close association with several large banking houses 
there, and of his friendship for such outstanding citi¬ 
zens as Paul Patterson and Joseph Blondell, officials 
of the great newspaper, the Baltimore Sun. He even 
knew Mrs. Hutchinson's family and held in the high' 
est regard the genial Governor of Maryland, Albert 
C. Ritchie. 

Stroking the lion cub's head as he talked, Goven 
nor Roosevelt praised the family for their work in 
the interest of aviation, and the progressive advance' 
ment of transportation. He told then, how refreshing 
it was to see an entire family, parents and children 
both, performing such a service. 

Franklin D. Roosevelt's genial expression, warm 
smile and soft voice commands every one's respect. 
His great sincerity and democratic manner seem to 
place his listeners on an equal footing with him, in 
his service to his state and country. 



Franklin Delano Roosevelt 


hi 


After reading its message, Governor Roosevelt 
signed the Scroll and gave the family his blessings 
and wished them Happy Landings, as they prepared 
to leave. Just at this moment Lieutenant Governor 
Robert L. Lehman entered the office, and like every- 
one else, young or old, was attracted by the family 
mascot. 

While the Lieutenant Governor summoned up 
sufficient courage to stroke the lion, sitting beside the 
Governor’s chair, Mr. Roosevelt briefly told him of 
the family’s great work and the reason for their 
presence in Albany. 

The day was clear and cold. Men were busy clean¬ 
ing snow from the streets and sidewalks. To the 
family, the clear skies were a welcome relief from 
the bad flying weather they had experienced the past 
few days. But now that it was clear, they were held 
up for repairs. Just how long, they weren’t sure. 

The afternoon was spent seeing the historical mov¬ 
ing picture Abraham Lincoln. 

After dinner, while Mrs. Hutchinson was sham¬ 
pooing the children’s heads, Colonel Hutchinson sat 
down in an easy chair in the hotel living room. He 
reviewed to himself the parade of events since leav¬ 
ing Washington. 



112 


Flying the States 


Flying in the dead of winter, the family had cov¬ 
ered eleven states, pushing through snow, rain, high 
winds, all kinds of weather, both good and bad, land¬ 
ing in muddy fields and snow-covered airports, taken 
off from highways lined with poles and wires, all 
safely and without complaint. 

At times the family plane had to be staked out in 
open fields, in rain or snow, which often meant his 
getting up in the middle of the night to secure it 
more firmly, as a safeguard from strong night winds. 
Draining the oil in sub-zero weather with the wind 
blowing the oil all over his clothes, filling the gas 
tank from cans while standing on top of the wing, 
bracing himself against a wind of gale force—all was 
just a part of each day’s flying for Colonel Hutchin¬ 
son. 

Flying a few hundred feet off the ground, darting 
around grain elevators, water towers; following rail¬ 
road tracks in blinding snow; flying over towns, 
mountains, rivers, lakes, broad meadows, and val¬ 
leys; landing sometimes by day and sometimes by 
night. 

Telling the same story over and over; eating any¬ 
where, sleeping anywhere; living under different con¬ 
ditions day by day. Always trying to be polite, say- 



Franklin Delano Roosevelt 


£13 

ing and doing the right thing, meeting people in all 
walks of life—This was the task he had undertaken. 

***** 

Early the next morning Colonel Hutchinson was 
feeding the lion cub raw meat, from his hands, bit 
by bit, together with a pint of rich milk and two 
raw eggs. As the lion ate, a bell boy brought the 
Colonel a telegram, to say that the propeller would 
arrive in Albany about eleven that morning. 

By noon he had obtained the propeller and was 
on his way by train to Pittsfield. Once there, he lost 
no time in having a tractor clear a runway in the 
snow for a take-off, while he replaced the propeller, 
filled up the gas tanks, and changed the oil. 

The landing of a cabin plane in Pittsfield had 
turned out to be quite an event, especially since it 
arrived in such a sudden, unheralded fashion. 

When the news spread that the plane was ready 
to take off again, crowds began to gather to witness 
the event. Fortunately a strong wind was blowing 
and the Colonel had little difficulty in getting the 
plane into the air, although the motor was rough. 

Many of the people of Pittsfield had befriended 
the Colonel and his family. One family by the name 



Flying the States 


£I£ 

of Page, served Mrs. Hutchinson and the children a 
delicious dinner on the evening of their unexpected 
arrival, while the Colonel worked on the plane. 
Young men and boys had helped to clear the snow 
to make a runway, turn the ship around, fill the gas 
tanks, change the oil, take off and replace the pro- 
peller. One youngster even acted as a night watch' 
man. The Hutchinson family will be forever grate' 
ful for the friendliness of those in Pittsfield, who 
aided them in their plight. 

Once off the ground, the plane climbed quickly, 
banked around over the field, circled, dipped its 
wings and headed westward toward Albany, as the 
crowd waved and cheered. 

Twenty minutes later the plane landed at the 
Albany Airport, where Mrs. Hutchinson and the 
children met the head of the family as he taxied up 
to the Colonial Airway Hangar. 

Leaving the plane for a further overhauling, the 
family returned to their hotel, planning to leave 
Albany early the next morning. 

Back in their hotel rooms they were surprised 
to find the lion sound asleep on the bed. Evidently 
some one had opened the door to the bathroom, 
allowing Governor to seek more agreeable quarters. 



Franklin Delano Roosevelt 


ii5 

Anxious to make up for the time lost, the family 
retired early for a long night's rest, in preparation 
for new adventures on the morrow. 









Chapter XI 


THE AIRPLANE FACTORY 


Bad weather returned the next morning in the 
form of low-hanging clouds, ready to drop more snow 
almost any minute over the already snow-blanketed 
earth. 

Last minute repairs delayed the take-off from the 
Albany Airport until eleven A.M., when despite 
the low ceiling and unfavorable weather ahead, the 
Colonel lifted the family plane from the one runway 
cleared of snow. 

Headed toward Buffalo, two hundred and sixty- 
eight miles westward, they made slow progress, be¬ 
cause of strong, shifting head winds. 

116 





The Airplane Factory 


111 

Flying over this rough, hilly country in poor 
weather keeps a pilot busy, checking his drift and 
position. 

The farther west they flew the rougher the air 
became, and the plane was buffeted about like a cork 
on the ocean. 

Occasionally skaters could be seen gliding over the 
surface of the many lakes dotting Central New York 
State. 

The rough air was a little too much for Janet Lee. 
She was the first member of the family to become 
airsick on the trip. Aided, however, by some fresh 
air and a remedy always present in the first aid kit, 
the little girl was soon resting comfortably on the 
rear seat, with her head in her mother's lap. 

Kathryn was sitting next to her father, checking 
off temmile intervals on the maps as they were 
passed. Colonel Hutchinson always lays out his 
course on the map before starting any flight. Each 
ten miles he draws a line and as these mileage points 
are passed, they are each in turn checked off on the 
maps. In this manner, he always knows exactly 
where the plane is, provided, of course, he can see 
the ground. 

After they had passed Geneva and the five Finger 



n 8 


Flying the States 


Lakes, the air became smoother and it began to snow 
very lightly. 

It took nearly three hours to reach Buffalo on ac' 
count of the strong headwinds. The city covered by 
snow was unimpressive in its mantle of white. Even 
beautiful Lake Erie lost its natural beauty from the 
sky on account of the snow. A brief landing at the 
Buffalo Airport to refuel, and once again the family 
plane was off. 

This time they followed the Canadian side of Lake 
Erie, headed for Detroit and Wayne, Michigan. Fly' 
ing low on a 265° compass reading, they made very 
fast time, principally because the wind had shifted 
and was now a tail wind. Flying directly over Lake 
St. Clair and across Detroit, they landed on the 
grounds of the Stinson Airplane factory at Wayne, 
Michigan, where the family plane had been built. 

The wheels had hardly hit the snow'covered run' 
way when the light snow, which had been falling, 
stopped. It seemed that it would snow only when 
the family was in the air. It had taken over five 
hours to make the flight from Albany to Wayne, 
and now on this mid'winter afternoon, darkness was 
nearly upon them. 

All the factory executives were agreeably sun 



The Airplane Factory 


112 

prised to see the family and the lion, especially dur' 
ing such a stretch of bad weather. 

Edward Stinson, one of the first airmen of all 
times, and president of the company, gave the chib 
dren and their mother a real treat by personally 
escorting them through the factory. He showed them 
how the fuselage is built in a metal jig and they 
watched the expert welders join the hollow steel tub' 
ing together. 

Then they passed on to the wing construction de- 
partment, and saw the workers join the metal ribs 
to the spars and metal edging. Each wing when com' 
pleted is sent to the covering department, where 
strong linen is drawn tightly over the metal skele' 
ton construction. From here the wing is sent to the 
paint room where airplane dope draws the linen 
tighter and tighter until it appears like the head of a 
drum. Then it is painted the desired color. 

The stabilizer, rudder, and fin are each made sep' 
arately, together with the ailerons, all passing 
through the same construction stages. 

The fuselage too, is covered, doped, and painted. 
The upholstering department covers the walls and 
ceiling of the cabin, with selected materials, and also 
the chairs which are made of welded steel tubing 



120 


Flying the States 


by the chair department. While planes are built in 
line production, most of the work is done by hand 
and the workers, especially the welders, must be ex- 
pert in their work. 

The undercarriage, wheels, and tail wheel are 
joined to the fuselage, and the body of the plane is 
then ready for instrument installation, electric wir¬ 
ing, and complete assembly. 

Naturally control units, brakes, window glass, navi¬ 
gation, and landing light wiring, etc., are installed be¬ 
fore the plane is covered. Once the fuselage is paint¬ 
ed, sanded down and highly polished, it is passed 
along for motor, propeller, and cowling installation. 

Following complete assembly, a final detailed in¬ 
spection is made and then the plane is sent out for 
flight test. 

The flight test affords correction for nose, tail, left 
or right wing heaviness. Then there may be adjust¬ 
ments to the vertical fin, stabilizer, ailerons, rudder, 
flaps, wheels, brakes or controls. All these things are 
found out by the test pilot while in the air and while 
taxiing on the ground. 

A good test pilot can tell almost immediately what 
is needed to bring any plane into perfect balance. 

Most of the large airliners of today are covered 



The Airplane Factory 


121 


with metal instead of linen. This type of construe- 
tion is held together by rivets. Hardly without ex¬ 
ception, any plane below the $20,000.00 class is cov¬ 
ered with linen. 

The controls in a Stinson plane are wheels operat¬ 
ing on roller chains. Brakes are fixed to the rudder 
pedals and operated by pressure on the heels. 

The motors are built entirely separate by any one 
of ten airplane motor manufacturers. They are in 
turn sold to the plane manufacturer, who installs 
them according to the choice of the purchasers. 

Mr. Stinson, known to the world as “Eddie,” gave 
Mrs. Hutchinson and the children a valuable lesson 
in plane building, and nothing could have been more 
interesting than to hear this great airman talk on the 
subject he knew so thoroughly. 

While the tour of inspection was going on, Colo¬ 
nel Hutchinson had been supervising repairs and a 
general check on the family plane, following its re¬ 
cent minor accident. 

Although the children had flown many thousand 
air miles in varied types of planes, this was their first 
visit to a plane factory. When the family finally left 
the factory to spend the night in their hotel, Janet 
Lee turned to Eddie Stinson and asked: 



122 


Flying the States 


“Mr. Stinson, just what do chord, torque, dihedral, 
and incidence mean?' 1 

Such a question from such a little girl caused every- 
one to laugh heartily. But she had picked up a tag 
on which was printed each of these words, and nat¬ 
urally she was curious to know what they meant. 

“Well, Janet Lee, 11 replied Mr. Stinson, “when you 
learn how to pronounce dihedral, incidence, chord, 
and torque properly, you ask your Daddy and he'll 
tell you. 11 

But Janet's father broke in: “Don't tell her that, 
Eddie. I have enough trouble now answering simple 
questions like: 'What is water made of?' 'Where 
does steam go to?' If you put any more questions 
into her head, I'll just about go crazy!" 



Chapter XII 


GOVERNOR EARNS A REPUTATION 


The flight to Lansing, capital of Michigan, was 
made in the short space of twenty-five minutes. The 
family had left Wayne before nine A.M., and by 
ten o’clock, was shaking hands with Wilber M. 
Brucker, the new Governor of the State of Michi¬ 
gan, in his office. 

After affixing his signature as the twelfth state 
governor to sign, he told the family how happy he 
was to know that the plane in which they were 
making this historical flight was built in Michigan, 
the automobile center of the world. 

Somewhat intrigued by the massive carved desk 


123 





124 


Flying the States 


behind which Governor Brucker attended to the ah 
fairs of state, Kathryn unconsciously started to sit in 
the Governor's chair, but suddenly realizing that she 
shouldn't sit down while her parents and the Gow 
ernor were standing, she jumped up in a great hurry. 

The Governor noticed her actions and said, “Well, 
little lady, why not sit in the Governor's chair and 
assume the responsibilities of his office for a spell?'*’ 

“Oh, may I, Governor Brucker?" she replied, and 
immediately sat down behind the big desk. 

“Kathryn," continued the Governor, “now that 
you are in my chair and for the moment are the Act' 
ing Governor, how does it feel?" 

She reflected for a moment and then picked up a 
fountain pen from an odd shaped, marble stand, and 
said, “Do they blame everything that goes wrong in 
Michigan on the Governor, as they do on the Presh 
dent?" 

This brought loud laughter from the Governor, as 
he answered, “Pretty nearly everything, Sister, but, 
of course, if all goes well and the people prosper 
under his administration, he receives lots of credit, 
too.” 

When the family started to leave, the Governor 
suddenly walked over to his chair behind the desk, 



.. . .A................ 



The Flying Lion at play 


























Governor Earns a Reputation 


127 


which Kathryn had just vacated, sat down and in a 
most official manner, addressing himself to Kathryn, 
asked: 

“Now that I am Governor again, I want to know 
if it is true that this husky mascot you have here 
came from Detroit, too?” 

Somewhat bewildered, she answered, “Yes, sir, he 
did.” 

“And is it true that he now has a reputation as 
the Flying Lion?” continued the Governor. 

“Yes, sir, I guess so,” she stammered in reply. 

“So the plane and the lion too came from Michi- 
gan. Well in that case, I think now that you're in 
Michigan, I'll confiscate the lion and put him back 
in the Detroit Zoo, so that everyone that comes to 
Detroit can see the famous flying lion,” suggested the 
Governor. 

At this awful threat, Janet Lee and Kathryn both 
stood open-mouthed, ready to burst into tears, but 
the Governor only laughed and he winked at Colo¬ 
nel and Mrs. Hutchinson. 

“You don't really want that old cub lion, do you?” 
he asked jokingly. 

“Golly, he's the best pet we ever had, Governor,” 
broke in Janet Lee. 



128 


Flying the States 


And Kathryn drew a deep breath of relief. “My, 
I’m glad you were only fooling, Governor Brucker,” 
she said. 

Still smiling, he shook hands with the family, pat' 
ted the lion’s head as Janet Lee held him on a leash, 
and spoke to Colonel Hutchinson. “But when you’re 
through flying the forty-eight states, I would like to 
have the lion loaned to the Detroit Zoo, so that the 
people could see him. It would be a curiosity and 
very interesting. Besides, lions grow very fast and 
you’ll have to find some place to keep him when your 
work is done.” 

Promising to think the matter over when the flight 
was completed, Colonel Hutchinson exchanged 
thanks and good wishes, then hurried the family 
back to the airport. 

Another difficult take-off from the snow, and the 
plane was winging its way toward Indianapolis, the 
capital of Indiana. But again old man weather started 
making trouble. 

Before they reached Battle Creek, it started to 
snow. At Sturgis the snowfall was so heavy that the 
Colonel decided to land, but because of the heavy 
snow, he was unable to locate the airport. 

Continuing southward, only about a hundred feet 



Governor Earns a Reputation 


129 


or so off the ground, he finally picked up a single 
railroad track running in the same direction, and 
decided to follow it. 

At Lagrange, Indiana, the storm had grown worse 
and for the first time on the entire trip the Colonel 
was worried. 

The snow was wet and the large flakes froze on the 
windshield. Mrs. Hutchinson, sitting beside her hus' 
band, opened the side window and reached around 
to wipe off the windshield on her side of the plane; 
while the Colonel, flying with one hand, had to do 
the same thing on his side. 

Janet Lee and Kathryn were playing checkers as 
cheerfully as though they were at home in their own 
living room, and Governor was sound asleep in his 
cage. 

Heavy static made radio reception almost impossh 
ble. The wind shift, Colonel Hutchinson estimated, 
was a little north of Indianapolis. If he could get 
through the shift, the 6torm would diminish as he 
passed the storm center. 

On they flew, hugging* the single railroad track, 
pulling up, banking over to the left, then to the right, 
avoiding grain elevators, windmills and rolling hills. 

The leading edge of the wing was now taking on 



130 


Flying the States 


ice rapidly, and the plane becoming sluggish and 
heavy. They must get down—they must. 

At last they reached Fort Wayne, Indiana, where 
a large airport was shown on the map. The storm 
was by now a raging blizzard. Over housetops, 
around and around they circled, trying to locate the 
airport. 

Nearly a half hour of this, and then suddenly, the 
Colonel spotted the airport with its flashing beacon 
light. 

He side-slipped straight in for a fast landing, afraid 
to circle longer for fear of losing the airport in this 
terrific storm. Luckily the plane landed on the run¬ 
way; the depth of the snow slowed it down almost 
at once, but it did not nose up on end. 

Airport attendants rushed out to help push the 
plane into the hangar, a hard job in this wind of gale 
force. 

Once inside the hangar the men were astonished 
to see Mrs. Hutchinson, Janet Lee, Kathryn, and the 
lion cub. 

“Holy smoke, the mail can’t get through, but you 
do!” said one of the men as he helped the children 
and the lion from the cabin. 

While the cub entertained everyone around the 



Governor Earns a Reputation 


111 

airport with his amusing antics, the Colonel brought 
his diary up to date. 

By five P.M. darkness was upon them and the 
snow stopped falling. Here and there stars appeared 
through paths of scurrying clouds. 

After the tractor had cleared a runway, the family 
took off in the darkness, heading for Indianapolis. 

Flying 200° the plane reached its destination with' 
in an hour, without incident. A big contrast to the 
daytime flight in the blizzard. 

Because of the late hour, it was impossible to see 
the Governor that night, so the night was spent in 
a hotel. 

Needless to say that the lion continued to be a 
chief attraction everywhere. Waddling across the 
hotel lobby, riding in the elevators, walking on the 
streets or sitting in automobiles, he drew the crowd. 
Some had the courage to pat his back; a very few 
would gingerly touch his head. But all in all, he was 
a fascinating animal, especially when he trailed after 
the younger member of the family, just like Mary’s 
little lamb. 



Chapter XIII 


PRAIRIE STATES 


Harry Guyer Leslie, Governor of Indiana, the 
Hoosier State, greeted the family and signed the 
Scroll in his office at the State Capitol early the next 
morning, making the thirteenth signature. 

The Governor was very depressed, having had to 
turn down a reprieve for a man who was to be elec- 
trocuted for murder. There had been a long session 
debating the advisability of the reprieve, and evi¬ 
dently some pathetic angle to this unhappy picture 
had saddened the Governor’s heart. 

The Flying Family and the cub managed to buoy 
up his spirits a little. They left him smiling with 


132 





Prairie States 


133 


the thought that there are ninety happy endings for 
every ten unhappy endings, among the true life ex- 
periences of each day. 

Anxious to make up for all their loss of time, 
Colonel Hutchinson headed toward Springfield, the 
capital of Illinois, where Abraham Lincoln once 
lived. 

Flying a 270° compass course they covered the 
distance in less than an hour and a half. Near the 
Illinois border the snow on the ground had gradually 
disappeared, and by the time the plane landed at the 
Springfield Airport, there was no sign of snow any¬ 
where. 

Several hundred people awaited their arrival at the 
airport, newspaper photographers among them. Now 
that the family had visited thirteen states, their 
flight had become nationally known. Today, how¬ 
ever, few people knew the exact time of their arrival, 
due to an irregular schedule. 

After the photographers had taken a number of 
pictures, the family was driven directly to the Execu¬ 
tive Mansion, where they were welcomed by Gov¬ 
ernor Louis L. Emmerson, and his young grand¬ 
daughter. 

While Janet Lee, Kathryn, and Betty Lou, the 



134 


Flying the States 


Governor's three year old granddaughter played in 
the garden with the cub and Betty Lou's big Great 
Dane, Colonel Hutchinson with his wife and the 
Governor retired to the study, where the Governor 
read the Scroll and signed his name as the fourteenth 
State Executive. 

When the older people joined the children in the 
garden, they were surprised to see tiny Betty Lou 
sitting on the porch step, holding the big lion cub 
on her lap, stroking his head. Janet Lee and Kathryn 
were telling her how their mascot traveled in the 
plane with them. 

It was comical to see the Great Dane standing far 
down the end of the garden, afraid to come any 
closer to this unfamiliar animal. 

One of the Governor's servants led a smartdooking 
Shetland pony into the large courtyard and for a 
short while the children took turns riding the pony 
and holding the lion. 

But the family had to be on their way, so they 
left the genial Governor and his granddaughter at the 
gate of his beautiful mansion, to return to the airport. 

While the Colonel attended to the refueling of 
the plane, the children walked with their mother 
to the end of the airport to look at a pen full of 



Prairie States 


135 


young pigs, belonging to a farm adjoining the flying 
field. 

Twenty minutes later the plane was winging its 
way over flat country, dotted with farm and pasture 
lands, toward Jefferson City, the capital of Missouri. 

For the next hour the children attended to les' 
sons, with Mother as their teacher. 

Over this level country the plane flew at about 
500 feet and the noise of the motor often sent the 
cows and chickens running to cover. It was pleasant 
to sit back and watch the black shadow of the plane 
as it fled steadily over fences, orchards, buildings, 
and ground. 

The farther west and south they went, the more 
sparsely settled the country appeared. Quite a com 
trast to the many towns, cities, and villages dotting 
the eastern part of the United States. 

Within an hour they came in sight of the Missouri 
River. Following its course for a few miles, they 
came to Jefferson City. A quick trip to the office 
of the Governor, the usual exchange of friendly greet' 
ings and Governor Henry S. Canfield of Missouri 
affixed the fifteenth signature to the Scroll. 

From his office window the Governor pointed out 
the beautiful Missouri River valley spread before 



136 


Flying the States 


them in all its glory, as he told of the early settlers 
and the covered wagon trains of not so long ago— 
how weeks were required to travel the same mileage 
the family had just flown in one hour. 

By two o'clock the family was well on the way 
to Topeka, the capital of Kansas. Taking advantage 
of the ideal flying weather and flat country, the Colo- 
nel made excellent time and by 4:30, they were re¬ 
ceived by another Governor, Harry H. Woodring of 
Kansas, who welcomed them to the great Prairie 
State. 

Today the family had secured three governors' 
signatures and made excellent time, both in the air 
and on the ground. One-third of the flight was now 
completed. 



Chapter XIV 


HEAD WINDS 


During the next three days, Nebraska, Iowa, Wis- 
consin, Minnesota, North and South Dakota were 
covered. 

Each day’s progress, now that the weather was 
clear, was more or less routine flying. 

At Lincoln, Nebraska, Charles W. Bryan, brother 
of the famous statesman and orator, William Jennings 
Bryan, added his signature as number seventeen. In 
Des Moines, capital of Iowa, Dan W. Turner signed 
as the eighteenth Governor. The family flew here 
at night and although the sky was clear, the airport 
was covered with snow. 


i37 





138 


Flying the States 


In Madison, capital of Wisconsin, Phil F. LaFol- 
lette, the youngest governor in the United States ah 
fixed his signature in the hotel coffee shop while at 
lunch, so that the family could hurry on to St. Paul. 

In St. Paul, tall, handsome Floyd B. Olson, Gow 
ernor of Minnesota, was the twentieth Governor to 
sign. 

In Minneapolis, twin city to St. Paul, the family 
was taken through one of the great flour mills for 
which the city is noted. Here, in some unexplained 
manner the lion cub fell into a large barrel of flour. 
When he finally clambered out all covered with 
white flour he was a sight to see. 

“Holy smoke, Mother, Governor looks like a 
ghost lion!” cried Janet Lee. She brushed and brushed 
the mascot with her tiny hands, while a cloud of 
white flour filled the air. 

“Don’t do that, Janet Lee,” replied her mother, 
“wait until we get outside and then we’ll all help 
brush him off.” 

As the lion, shrouded in white, followed the family 
through the remainder of the giant mill, the people 
working there looked at the cub in amazement, worn 
dering what kind of animal he was. 

Flying from St. Paul, the home of the Northwest 






S 

•<Sk 


<0 


<0 

c> 

S 

































































» 








Head Winds 


141 

Airways, Colonel Hutchinson circled the Twin Cities 
several times so that the family could see the many 
beautiful lakes and the great Mississippi River. 

Headed for Bismarck, the capital of North Dakota, 
they met with a wind of gale force, holding their 
flying speed down to sixty miles an hour. When they 
finally reached Bismarck it was only to find the ham 
gar and a number of planes completely wrecked. Sew 
eral hours before the family's arrival, the same wind 
which they had been fighting all morning struck the 
airport at Bismarck with such intensity it left build¬ 
ings and planes twisted and reduced to wreckage. 

By now the wind had died down considerably, but 
the Colonel took the precaution of tying the plane 
down and leaving several men to watch it, while the 
family drove to the Governor's office. 

The damage at the airport was the second dis¬ 
aster that had visited the city in the past few weeks. 
A great fire had destroyed the Capitol Building and 
Governor George F. Shafer welcomed the family in 
his temporary offices in the Post Office Building. 

From Bismarck the Colonel piloted the family 
plane toward Pierre, South Dakota. Following a 158° 
compass course along the Mississippi River, they cov¬ 
ered 200 miles in one hour and twenty-five minutes. 



142 


Flying the States 


Pierre, the twenty-second state capital, was the 
smallest capital city the family had visited so far, 
running a close race with Dover, the capital of Dela¬ 
ware. 

From the air the huge State Capitol Building 
made a picturesque sight, its dome, granite structure, 
and great size forming a big contrast to the other 
smaller buildings of Pierre. 

The noise of the motor as the trim monoplane 
circled the city attracted nearly everyone who could 
possibly get away from home or business, to see the 
Flying Family land on the Municipal Airport. 

By the time Colonel Hutchinson taxied up to the 
hangar, car after car had driven up to the airport, 
and the family was given a rousing welcome. 

At the St. Charles Hotel the Hutchinsons were 
given the same rooms occupied by Colonel Lind¬ 
bergh during his visit to the city. 

Governor Warren Greene, with his grown son and 
daughter, greeted them in his office, and following 
the signing of the Scroll showed the family over the 
great Capitol Building, with its wide corridors, stair¬ 
ways, legislature, and committee rooms, and famous 
paintings. 

That night Janet Lee and Kathryn were quite 



Head Winds 


i43 

thrilled, sleeping in the same bed Lindbergh had once 
occupied, and wondered if it would be all right to 
tell people. 












Chapter XV 


THE AIR AMBULANCE 


As they drove toward the airport the next mom- 
ing the family saw hundreds and hundreds of dead 
birds lying on the ground in all directions. No one 
knew the cause, unless it could be the storm or cold 
weather, which seemed unlikely. Whatever the rea¬ 
son, some unknown doom had fallen upon all the 
birds during the night and up to the time the family 
left, this strange mystery was still unsolved. 

On this beautiful January morning the plane head¬ 
ed southwest toward Cheyenne, capital of the great 
State of Wyoming, three hundred and fifty miles 
away. 


144 





The Air Ambulance 


145 


During the next two to three hours Janet Lee and 
Kathryn attended their classroom in the skies, where 
both pupils and teachers absorbed a great deal of 
knowledge, as they looked down on the evenchang' 
ing picture below. 

Following the usual order—exercise, singing, then 
the combination of geography and history, Colonel 
Hutchinson listened as his wife told the children 
about the many Indian reservations over which they 
were now flying, how the great Cree, Crow, Chey' 
enne, and Blackfoot tribes once roamed this part of 
the country; how the coming of the white man, sub' 
sequent wars and civilisation, are slowly but surely 
bringing to an end the race of people known as red 
men, or Indians. 

The children’s mother told stories of great deeds 
by both white and red men, of bloody battles, mas' 
sacres of white women and children; and of the grad' 
ual conquering of the Indians, and the effort to edu' 
cate and make useful citizens out of those who sun 
vive and those who are being born into this new era 
of peace. 

As Janet Lee and Kathryn listened and looked out 
from the windows of the speeding plane, their fresh 
minds visualised all the tales their mother told them 



146 


Flying the States 


as actually happening on the rugged country spread 
out below. 

They imagined themselves riding wild Pintos, 
shooting guns from the backs of fast-moving horses, 
while the Indians attacked them with bow and arrow. 
To children there are few subjects more interesting 
than American history. 

Mrs. Hutchinson teaches her class in the sky in 
such an interesting manner, that her husband is often 
more anxious to attend school than the children. 
But when examination or test time comes it is usually 
Colonel Hutchinson who asks or prepares the ques- 
tions. He feels that in this manner the answers will 
develop from understanding and reasoning rather 
than from memory. If Mrs. Hutchinson prepared 
the questions, a familiar phrase or repetition would 
immediately bring to mind the exact wording as mem¬ 
orised from their mother's teachings. With Colonel 
Hutchinson phrasing the questions, Janet Lee and 
Kathryn have to put on their thinking caps to pussle 
out how, when and where Mother told them about 
this battle or that mineral, this river or that moun¬ 
tain. 

Thus the children spent the early morning in 
school, while their daddy flew toward Cheyenne. 



The Air Ambulance 


147 


Within fifty miles of the capital of Wyoming, the 
Colonel was attracted by a column of smoke rising 
from the ground a few miles ahead. As the plane 
drew nearer they saw, from a 50Ofoot altitude, a 
small ranch house in flames. 

Circling and circling the burning house, they could 
see three people doing all they could to put out the 
fire. Someone was lying on the ground a short dis- 
tance back from the burning house. 

The Colonel could not make out if it was a man, 
woman or child. 

Off in the distance three horses were scampering 
away from the raging fire. As far as eye could see 
in any direction, there were no signs of habitation. 

Feeling a moral obligation to land and do what he 
could 5 the Colonel selected a smooth stretch of bar¬ 
ren ground and made a quick landing. 

Taxiing as close to the house as he could, he 
jumped from the plane, shut off the switch, and 
rushed over to the person lying on the ground. 

Mrs. Hutchinson and the children followed, watch¬ 
ing the three men frantically trying to put out the 
fire with buckets of sand and water. 

Colonel Hutchinson at once saw it was impossible 
to save any part of the building. He reached the 



148 


Flying the States 


young woman lying on the ground. Her hair was 
all singed and burnt and she was holding a cloth 
soaked in some liquid preparation to her face. 

Realizing she was badly injured, he ran back to the 
plane as fast as his legs would carry him. He re- 
turned immediately with a first aid kit. With the 
help of Mrs. Hutchinson, he bathed her face in olive 
oil and then smoothed a soothing ointment all over 
her burnt skin. This treatment brought some relief to 
the courageous woman, who had insisted that her 
husband and his two brothers continue to fight the 
fire while she doctored herself. 

Between sobs, while Mrs. Hutchinson trimmed her 
hair and helped the Colonel bandage her face, she 
haltingly told how a small gasoline stove had ex¬ 
ploded as she was preparing a late breakfast, how the 
three men smothered the flames on her hair and dress, 
during which brief time the house became a mass of 
flames. Attending to her injuries herself, she made 
the men leave her to fight the fire. Then, as if in 
answer to her prayers the plane appeared, bringing 
relief to her suffering. 

Seeing how useless their efforts were, the three 
men, each the picture of utter fatigue and dejection, 
flung themselves on the ground beside the injured 



The Air Ambulance 


149 


woman. For several minutes no one spoke, while 
Colonel and Mrs. Hutchinson continued to make 
their first emergency patient as comfortable as pos- 
sible. 

Some of the house furnishings had been brought 
safely out and had been dumped in a heap about 
fifty feet from the front of the rapidly crumbling 
building. There were also two wooden sheds, a 
chicken coop and a small outhouse. 

The men told the Colonel that the nearest town 
was Albin, Wyoming, about ten miles away. There 
was no telephone or means of quick communication 
between the ranch and the town. There was, how- 
ever, an old dilapidated automobile and the cow 
path called a road, which was a regular quagmire in 
spots, owing to recent heavy rains. 

Since there was no further use in staying there, 
Colonel Hutchinson had the men write a note to 
their friends in Albin with instructions what to do. 
Then he wrapped the note around a small block of 
wood and promised to drop it on the front steps 
of the general store. Under the circumstances, Cok> 
nel Hutchinson did not think it wise or safe to at' 
tempt to fly an additional passenger in the plane, 
especially taking off from such rough ground. 



Flying the States 


150 

As long as they left her a fresh stock of bandages 
and dressings, they felt that the young woman 
wouldn't need any further medical attention, thanks 
to the olive oil and ointment. The burnt out home" 
steaders could shelter themselves temporarily in the 
shed, which was untouched by the fire. After the 
fire had burnt out, they probably could salvage the 
wood stove, and set it up in the shed as protection 
from the cold. 

Through teanfilled eyes the young woman thanked 
Mrs. Hutchinson and her husband for helping, thanks 
in which the three men joined wholeheartedly. 

For a moment Mrs. Hutchinson was frightened at 
not seeing either Janet Lee or Kathryn, neither of 
whom had been missed during all the excitement, 
but she soon caught sight of them, each leading a 
tiny goat back toward the still smoldering house. It 
took a very brief time to get them back to the plane, 
and fifteen minutes later Colonel Hutchinson 
dropped the note on the steps of the general store 
at Albin, Wyoming. He then circled round until 
he was sure that the note had been found and the 
news duly spread among the town's forty-^one in" 
habitants. Then he dipped his wings and headed for 
Cheyenne. 



The Air Ambulance 


151 

As the flying family raced through the cloudless 
skies, he turned to his wife and said: "For heaven's 
sake, Blanche, we didn't even get the names of those 
unfortunate people!" 

There could be no more school that morning. 
Janet Lee and Kathryn were overflowing with ex- 
citement over this most unusual adventure. Prob- 
ably both Mother and Daddy were just as well satis- 
fled. 



Chapter XVI 


JANET LEE ON HORSEBACK 


Cheyenne is 6200 feet above sea level. When 
Colonel Hutchinson brought the plane in for a land' 
ing at the busy United Airport, he was surprised 
to see how fast the plane landed at such high altitude. 

Counting the time spent at the burning ranch 
house, five hours had passed since they left Pierre. 

They drove straight to the State Capitol Building 
and were welcomed by Frank C. Emerson, the re' 
elected Governor of Wyoming. He signed the Scroll 
as number twenty'three. 

While the Governor and Colonel Hutchinson 
talked, the lion was surprised by a small fox terrier 


152 





Janet Lee on Horseback 


i 53 


dog, who scampered into the room and jumped upon 
Governor Emerson in friendly greeting. The cub 
suddenly gave a quick jerk and before little Janet Lee 
knew it, he had pulled the leash from her hand, and 
was racing all over the governor’s office after the 
dog. The fox terrier was frightened to death, rum 
ning, hiding, and barking while the lion clumsily 
tried to catch him. 

The chase was most amusing. Everyone was try- 
ing to catch the lion or the dog, as they darted un¬ 
der chairs, over the davenport, crossing from one side 
of the spacious office to the other. Finally the Gov¬ 
ernor captured the fox terrier and held him in his 
arms while the cub sat back on his haunches, waiting 
for the dog to come down. 

With an afternoon of beautiful weather ahead, the 
Colonel was anxious to make another state, so the 
family started on their way with cheers and good 
wishes ringing in their ears. 

While warming up the motor, Colonel Hutchin¬ 
son sent Janet Lee to the airport restaurant to change 
a ten-dollar bill. 

She returned to her father and gave him nine 
silver dollars and the balance in dimes. 

“What’s this, Janet Lee! For Heaven’s sake, who 



154 


Flying the States 


gave you all these cart wheels? 11 asked the Colonel. 

“They're swell, Daddy! Real silver dollars. The 
woman in the restaurant gave them to me. She called 
them 'Blands 1 . Everybody uses them in Wyoming, 
she said. 11 

“Who ever heard of a man carrying a pocket full 
of silver dollars around with him? 11 continued the 
Colonel, turning to his wife who was straightening 
up the rear of the cabin. 

“Why don't you send them back, George? 11 said 
his wife as she laughed softly. 

“Let me see them, Daddy," broke in Kathryn, as 
she entered the plane with the lion, and caught part 
of the conversation. 

Her father handed her all nine silver dollars. 

“I've never seen more than one dollar like this at 
a time, back east. Nine of them would load you 
down all right," she continued. 

“Suppose you take them back to the cashier in 
the restaurant, Kathryn, and tell her I'd prefer paper 
money," said the Colonel. 

“All right, Daddy," she replied as she handed the 
lion's leash over to her mother, jumped down out of 
the plane and ran around the back of the family air 
carriage in the direction of the restaurant. 



Janet Lee on Horseback 


i 55 


The Colonel revved up the motor, checked his in¬ 
struments, and turned the plane around slowly just 
as Kathryn returned. 

"She could only give me two paper dollars, Dad¬ 
dy,^" Kathryn shouted, as she climbed into the cabin 
somewhat out of breath. 

"What do you know about that! I never heard 
of such a thing," said her father. "But I guess Fll 
have to make the best of it, now that I have the 
silver," he added, as Kathryn passed the handful of 
money up to him. 

He gave the airport attendant one of the Blands 
for taking care of his plane. All fuel bills are paid by 
check, once a month, with the Colonel presenting a 
credit card, issued by the oil company whenever gas 
and oil is needed. 

It required forty minutes to cover the one hundred 
and thirteen miles to Denver, the capital of Colorado. 

The flight southward was uneventful, except for 
the natural beauty of the rugged mountain range, 
forming a majestic wall between the prairie lands and 
the high peaks of the Rocky Mountains. 

Governor William H. Adams, the most elderly 
of the governors they had called on so far, welcomed 
the Colonel and his family to Colorado. Although 



Flying the States 


156 

his nervousness was reflected in his quavering signa¬ 
ture, he proved to be a most interesting conversa- 
tionalist. 

He told about gold and silver mining, cattle rais- 
ing, farming, and other industries of the state. He 
spoke of the great State Hospital and private Tuber¬ 
cular Institution in Denver, and other points of in¬ 
terest. Governor Adams was a true part of the state's 
colorful history, of which he is justly proud. 

With the precious Scroll becoming more valuable 
as each signature was added, the flying family took 
leave of the twenty-fourth Governor. 

The document was now half completed. 

As they could not reach the next capital before 
nightfall, the family remained in Denver over night. 
Now that they were in this high, mountainous coun¬ 
try, the Colonel thought it wise to restrict family 
flying to daytime only, especially since it was winter. 
If, however, long distances separated two capitals, 
and they were on regular air routes, with well-lighted 
airports, night flying would then be as simple as day 
flying. But when it came to landing in small cities 
with inadequate air traffic accommodation, it was 
wiser to play safe. 

After driving about the city with its unusually 



Janet Lee on Horseback 


i57 


wide streets and beautiful homes with spacious gar- 
dens, the family in answer to little Janet Lee's re- 
quest, was taken to see one of the great cattle 
ranches. 

Here Colonel and Mrs. Hutchinson, Kathryn, and 
Janet Lee were mounted on four beautifully marked 
Pintos, with decorated western saddles. 

Accompanied by three cowboys, each outfitted 
with wide-brimmed western hats, leather chaps, shin¬ 
ing spurs, and all the trimmings of the western cow 
hand, the family set out to view the ranch in regular 
cowboy style. 

Ordinarily each member of the Hutchinson family 
is a fairly good horseman, but today, in the horse¬ 
man's paradise, they found themselves in the role of 
"tenderfoot." All easterners are tenderfoots in the 
eyes of the real western cowboy. 

First the Colonel, in trying to adjust the length 
of his left stirrup, while his mount was moving at a 
pretty fast clip, buried the high saddle pommel in his 
solar plexus. This, of course, knocked the wind out 
of him and everyone had to wait while he lay on 
the ground recovering his wind. 

After this, Mrs. Hutchinson lost her hat on two 
separate occasions, and each time it blew off in what 



158 


Flying the States 


seemed to be, at the moment, the worst possible 
place. The first time it landed at the bottom of a 
fifty'foot ravine. One of the cowboys recovered it 
with a lariat. One of his spurs was attached to the 
end of the lariat to hook it up by. 

Thirdly, Kathryn would frequently run her horse 
upon the heels of the pony ahead of her, which is 
an unpardonable sin for a good horseman. 

As a climax, little Janet Lee’s mount threw her 
and she rolled under the horse’s hoofs. Everyone 
rushed to her side and dismounted, but she picked 
herself up and insisted on riding some more. 

No, she didn’t want to go to the hotel, she wanted 
to ride. She whispered this to her father as he 
brushed off her dust'covered flying togs. And so in 
spite of her fall, the tour was completed. 

All afternoon while the family was out, the cub 
mascot was locked up in his bathroom boudoir. 

When they returned to the hotel rooms they had 
taken after leaving Governor Adams, the Colonel, 
with the children’s help, gave their pet a warm bath, 
which he did not like at all. 

Following this, each one took turns drying him. 
This he liked very much, but when Mother, Janet 
Lee, and Kathryn each held one of his big paws, 



Janet Lee on Horseback 


i59 


while the Colonel clipped his sharp claws, Governor 
growled, yelled and roared. In fact, he roared so 
loud that the noise was reported by other guests, 
and the manager and two bell boys rushed to the farm 
ily suite. Once there, however, they too, joined in 
holding down the lion. The job was finished with 
everybody laughing heartily. 

After Governor's toilet had been completed the 
Colonel fed him a big juicy steak, nice and raw; two 
raw eggs, a pint of milk, and two tablespoons of 
cod liver oil. The family mascot spent the balance 
of the evening gnawing a bone and washing himself 
all over again with his rough tongue, in cat fashion. 

When it came to Janet Lee's turn in the bath tub, 
her mother was shocked to see the skin covering 
her ribs on the left side all scraped and covered with 
dry blood. 

“Why, Janet Lee, what in the world happened to 
you?" asked her mother as she lifted her into the 
halfifilled bath tub, and started to bathe the injured 
side. 

“I guess the horse kicked me when I fell off, 
Mother," replied the youngest member of the family. 

“But Janet Lee, why didn't you tell us, so we 
could have bathed it right away?" 



Flying the States 


160 

“I thought if I told you then, Mother, maybe I 
couldn’t ride that Pinto again. Maybe you wouldn’t 
let me ever ride any horse again. And Mother, I 
love horses. I’d never tell on a horse, no matter what 
he did!” 

Janet Lee’s courage surely proved her love for 
horses. It proved something else too, even more im¬ 
portant: her real courage and self control. 



Chapter XVII 


THE LION AND THE WRESTLERS 


Next morning the weather continued perfect for 
flying, and taking advantage of the ideal conditions, 
the family started early on their way to Rock Springs, 
the next stop. 

In this high, mountainous country the Colonel flew 
at 12,000 feet in order to clear the high peaks. From 
this great height, Mrs. Hutchinson gave the children 
a lesson on mountain peaks, and ranges, pointing out 
each range as she named it, and giving its height, 
while the children looked down. 

She told how each mountain derived its name; 
of the rivers, and valleys, the various types of mining, 
161 





i 62 


Flying the States 


roads, and railroads. There was plenty of subject 
material for the day's lesson as the family covered 
the three hundred odd miles between Denver and 
Rock Springs. 

The mountains were covered with snow, with 
snake-like highways here and there, winding their 
way between passes in the great ranges. Long freight 
trains with their engines puffiing columns of smoke 
labored with their heavy loads. Occasionally a lake 
or a tiny town was all but buried in a deep valley. 
A mountain goat was silhouetted against the sun. 
All these things made up an unforgettable picture 
as the Colonel guided the covered wagon of the air 
westward. 

Over Rock Springs he slowly lost altitude and 
landed on the local airport to refuel. Somehow, ah 
though mountain flying is awe-inspiring and beauti¬ 
ful, one always feels relieved to touch the ground 
again, or to fly past the giant range into the country 
where the terrain is flat and safe for emergency 
landings. 

While the plane was being refueled, the cub, as 
usual, was allowed to run about loose, while the chil¬ 
dren kept an eye on him. Usually everyone else 
did too. 



The Lion and the Wrestlers 


163 

The pilot of a mail plane just in from Salt Lake 
City told the Colonel there was fog ahead, and Salt 
Lake City was covered with snow. He thought the 
going would be pretty bad, especially landing through 
the fog. 

Deciding to take the chance, the Colonel and his 
family set off again, headed for Salt Lake City, the 
capital of Utah, the Mormon State. 

They made fast time, flying high, and saw no 
sign of fog until they passed over the giant range 
that forms the western wall to the great City of 
Salt Lake. Then they found that the city itself, lying 
at the very foot of this great range, was entirely 
shrouded in dense mist. 

The Colonel circled around above this mass of va- 
por, vainly looking for a hole through which to de¬ 
scend. 

Dreading to risk it, he very slowly entered the fog, 
gliding carefully and slowly downward. All four of 
them had their safety belts tightly buckled. 

Within three hundred feet of the ground he spot¬ 
ted the gold dome of the great Mormon Temple, 
shining through the fog. From this point, skimming 
over roof tops, he headed west in a straight line for 
the airport and in two minutes the plane landed, 



164 


Flying the States 


coming to a stop almost immediately in the deep 
snow. 

A small crowd was on hand to greet them. Few 
people expected any plane to land in Salt Lake City 
in such weather. Even as the family alighted, the 
fog settled on the ground and the visibility was zero. 
They had landed in the nick of time. 

The steady drone of a motor was heard as the 
family entered an automobile to be driven to the 
Capitol Building. Closer and closer came the noise 
of the motor; then it would roar as the pilot gave it 
more fuel and again the noise faded in the distance. 
Evidently the pilot was trying to make a landing. 
Time and time again he came in for a blind landing, 
but each time would make another circle in order to 
try again. 

At last he came all the way down with a heavy 
thud. Everyone rushed across the airport to find the 
plane standing straight up on its nose, with the un¬ 
dercarriage torn from the fuselage. The pilot jumped 
down from the open cockpit of the mail plane, very 
much relieved to be down safely. The plane had 
nosed-up after hitting the soft snow off the runway. 
The strain and tenseness of the crowd, so apparent 
as the plane time and time again sought to land, 



The Lion and the Wrestlers 


165 

changed to relief as everyone gathered round to con¬ 
gratulate the fortunate pilot. 

The high altitude flying affected the hearing of the 
family to such an extent that even after landing, ordi¬ 
nary voices were hard to hear. In a few hours, of 
course, this temporary deafness disappeared entirely. 

The Governor would be absent from the city until 
the late afternoon, which meant an overnight stay 
in Salt Lake City for the travellers. So the family, 
lion and all, registered at the Utah Hotel. 

In the hotel lobby they made the acquaintance of 
Ira Dem, a professional wrestler and a cousin of the 
governor. Mr. Dern gave Colonel Hutchinson 
tickets to the wrestling match, scheduled for that 
night, and urged the family to attend. 

Later in the afternoon the governor returned and 
received the family in his private office, where the 
Scroll was duly signed. 

Following a delicious dinner, the Colonel decided 
to take the whole family, lion and all, to the wrestling 
matches. This being a new experience for the Hutch¬ 
inson family, excepting the Colonel, they looked for¬ 
ward to it with keen anticipation. 

Carrying the lion in his arms, the Colonel arrived 
with the family soon after the matches had started, 



i66 


Flying the States 


and they were shown to their ringside seats in the 
semi-darkness. Curling up on the seat between the 
Colonel and his wife, the lion took a nap, unnoticed 
by anyone. Those few who did see him in the dim 
light, probably mistook him for a dog. 

Just before the main event between Ira Dern and 
his worthy opponent, while the wrestlers were re- 
moving their robes in their respective corners, the 
announcer made a short speech about the Flying 
Family and invited the Colonel into the ring to say 
a few words. 

Climbing through the ropes, the Colonel was 
about to acknowledge the applause when who should 
scamper in the ring beside him, but the family mascot. 

Immediately the referee, wrestlers, and their han¬ 
dlers jumped over, under and through the ropes, 
while the cub scampered all over the brightly lighted 
ring. 

To see giant wrestlers, who, for the next hour 
would manhandle one another, suffer intense pain 
and possible injury, flee from the presence of a fifty- 
pound lion was a most amusing sight. 

The audience roared with laughter as the wrestlers 
gathered on the floor below the ring, while the cub 
let out a victorious roar. 










Janet Lee and Governor 















































The Lion and the Wrestlers 


169 


To add to the general amusement, Janet Lee sud' 
denly appeared in the ring, picked up the cub in her 
arms and struggled under her heavy load to get safely 
out of the ring and back to her seat. Long after, the 
crowd still continued to call for the lion, and even 
when the main event started, people in the audience 
would shout: 

“Feed him to the lions!' 1 

“The little girl could throw both of you bums.” 

“Look out, the lion's coming up there again!” 

“The big pussy cat will get you if you don't watch 
out.” 

To top it all, in the middle of a terrible hold, when 
one of the wrestlers was suffering severe pain, the 
family mascot let out an unusually loud yawn! 



Chapter XVIII 


FOLLOWING LINDBERGH'S TRAIL 


Next morning fog still hung between the moun¬ 
tain ranges, though weather reports recorded clear 
weather at Boise, capital of Idaho, the next sched¬ 
uled stop. But climbing upward, topping the high 
mountain peaks, the Colonel headed northward as 
the plane finally rose above the fog and emerged 
into cloudless sky. 

For the next hour there was nothing to be seen 
but the blue sky above and the gradually thinning 
fog below. Soon, between holes in the thin vapor, 
flashes of earth below came into view, as the plane 
sped steadily northward. 

170 





Following Lindbergh’s Trail 


vji 

Then the fog suddenly ended and bright sun lit 
up the earth below. 

This sparsely settled country, with its deep ra' 
vines, mountains and barren waste land, gives the 
air traveler a sense of loneliness and of the vastness 
of the nation's undeveloped land. 

Near Boise another ground fog could be seen rap' 
idly rolling in from the West. 

The Colonel gave the plane full throttle in order 
to reach his destination ahead of the deadly ground 
fog. He was lucky to get in just in time. 

The plane had hardly touched ground when the 
great mass of rolling mist settled over the airport 
and the surrounding country. Ten minutes later, and 
it would have been impossible to make a safe landing 
on the Boise Airport. 

The driver of the automobile that took the family 
into the city had to proceed cautiously at a snail's 
pace in order to keep on the highway, because of 
the denseness of the fog. Twice he drove off the 
road'edge and once he had to apply his brakes sud' 
denly to avoid hitting a cow standing in the road. 

That short drive to the Capitol Building from the 
airport caused more thrills than all their flying ad' 
ventures. The family felt far safer in the air. 



172 


Flying the States 


C. Ben Ross, the tall genial Governor of Idaho, 
welcomed the family in his private office and added 
his signature to the Scroll as number twenty-six. 

The Governor had a copy of the document made 
and while his secretary typed it out, he led Janet Lee 
to the governor's chair and told her to sit there. 

He answered the children's question about Idaho 
potatoes, how they derived their name, how they 
grew so large, and why everyone asks for baked 
Idaho potatoes. 

The Governor's wife joined the party and while 
the two family groups posed for news photographs, 
the Colonel and the Governor conversed on capital 
punishment, a law he bitterly opposes. 

As the family was retiring to the awaiting auto¬ 
mobile, a huge hound, seeing the lion cub walking 
beside the children, started running toward him. 

When he came within ten feet of the family pet, 
he promptly put out his paws, skidded several feet, 
turned around and ran as fast as his legs would carry 
him in the direction he had come from. About a 
city block away he turned around, cocked his head 
sideways and looked back as if to say, “What was 
that, anyway?" 

Evidently the hound thought Governor was just 



Following Lindbergh’s Trail 


173 


another dog, until he caught his scent, then decided 
that discretion was the greater part of valor. 

The family wasted several hours around the air¬ 
port before the fog lifted sufficiently for a safe take¬ 
off. 

The airport attendant advised the Colonel to fly 
to Helena by the way of the Snake River, telling 
him no one but Lindbergh ever flew straight across 
the worst stretch of mountains in the country, lying 
between Boise and Helena. All of the pilots go 
around by the river. 

But the Colonel decided to follow the trail blazed 
by the great airman, Charles A. Lindbergh. So he 
climbed through the lifting ground fog, climbed and 
climbed until the altimeter read 16,000 feet, then 
headed straight across the Bitter Root Range, for the 
capital of Montana. 

Mrs. Hutchinson snapped a number of photo¬ 
graphs of these high mountains with the family 
kodak, as the plane passed over the dangerous flying 
country. Any kind of a safe landing from the air 
would be almost impossible in this section between 
the two state capitals. 

For the next two hours the family saw more moun¬ 
tains than they had ever seen before, some wooded, 



i74 


Flying the States 


others a mass of rock, and all covered with snow. 

To keep his mind off the possibility of a forced 
landing, Father led the family in song, singing one 
after another, all their familiar favorites. Meantime, 
the plane passed over the Continental Divide, a little 
south of a direct line course, so the Colonel checked 
his directional error and shortly Helena, the capital 
of Montana, came into view. 

Somehow, in landing directly into the sun on the 
sloping airport, the Colonel nearly overshot the field, 
because of the blinding light in his eyes. Luckily 
he managed to stop the plane from running into the 
hangar by applying the right brake with all his might, 
thus forcing the plane into a ground loop. 

Governor John E. Erickson greeted the family in 
his home, where he added the twenty-seventh signa- 
ture to the Scroll. 

The Hotel Placer was crowded that night, so the 
family had to be content with one room without 
bath. The lion very contentedly slept at the foot of 
the childrens bed, as a change from his usual bath 
tub. 

In this sparsely settled part of the country the 
family was finding the weather and airport accommo' 
dation less inviting each day. Up to now they had 



Following Lindbergh’s Trail 


175 


been very fortunate in getting through some trying 
situations by the proverbial skin of their teeth. 

The flight to the forty-eighth state capital was rap¬ 
idly becoming a flight against time, with everyone 
helping the family to hurry on their way. Snow fog, 
mountains and strong wind—all obstacles of nature 
were in turn safely surmounted. 

The lion continued to be the cause of much amuse¬ 
ment, both to the family and to those who saw him. 
The toboggan episode, the many hotel experiences, 
his appearance in the pri^e ring, and the gentleness 
he displayed toward Janet Lee and Kathryn, were 
just a few of the things members of the family liked 
to tell everyone about. 











Chapter XIX 


A TEST OF COURAGE 


Fueling the plane at the airport the next morning 
proved to be quite a task because of the stormy 
wind and bitter cold. With the exception of the one 
bare hangar there were no accommodations. Colonel 
Hutchinson had to have aviation gasoline sent out 
in a regular gasoline truck. Straining the gasoline 
through a chamois while he stood on top of the 
wing was a slow job in the biting wind. Draining 
and refilling the oil tank took four times as long as 
usual, the oil barely flowing in the intense cold. 

Two hours passed before the family got under way 
after reaching the flying field. During this time the 
176 





A Test of Courage 


177 


children romped and played with the lion cub. Grad- 
ually people began to gather at the airport to see the 
family off, and by the time the plane rose smoothly 
in the air, several hundred spectators were waving 
good'bye. 

On a 286° compass reading the plane climbed slow' 
ly to 10,000 feet, where the Colonel leveled off and 
headed for Spokane en route to Olympia, capital of 
Washington. 

“I’m certainly glad to be in the air again, Blanche,” 
the Colonel said to his wife, sitting beside him. 

“So am I,” she answered, “and it's far more com' 
fortable in the plane than it is hanging around the 
airport in this cold weather. 1 ’ 

“Even at 10,000 feet the heat from the exhaust 
keeps the cabin plenty warm, doesn’t it, Blanche?” 
replied her husband as he guided the family plane 
westward. 

Janet Lee, spotting a great herd of cattle far below, 
exclaimed as she pointed, “Look, Daddy, can those 
things moving down there possibly be cows?” 

Looking in the direction she was pointing, he re' 
plied, 

“Yes, Sister, I think they are.” 

“From ’way up here, they look like tiny ants, don’t 



178 


Flying the States 


they, Daddy? Must be a million of ’em down there.” 

“Not a million, Janet Lee, but over a thousand, I 
guess/’ 

Kathryn, who was sitting beside her sister on the 
rear seat taking in the scene below in silence, now 
broke into the conversation. 

“Daddy, when the cowboys circle around and 
around a big herd of cattle like that one below, is 
that what you call a roundup?” 

“Not exactly,” the Colonel replied. “You see, 
Kathryn, great herds of cattle graze upon the plains, 
depending entirely upon the grass for their food. 
Sometimes the cow hands herd them to other grazing 
section, or to parts where water is more plentiful. 
But the real roundup comes when the animals are 
herded together and driven into the narrow opening 
of the corral. Here they are sorted, selected and made 
ready for shipment by rail to the great stockyards 
of the country.” 

“How do they get them to the railroad, Daddy?” 
asked the older child, very much interested in her 
father’s description. She pictured these events as 
actually taking place with the big herd they had just 
passed. 

“Oh, most of the large ranches have railroad spurs, 



A Test of Courage 


179 


or a siding nearby. If they don't, the herd has to be 
driven to the nearest siding or station where the cattle 
can be loaded." 

Her father went on to explain all about cattle, 
how they are fed and used for food, meat, butter, 
milk, hides, and other things. He told of the great 
meat packers and how the animals are slaughtered 
in the great stock-yards, using the Chicago Stock- 
yards as an illustration. He told about the way 
meats are canned, even for dog food; and how every 
single part of the animal was used, from its hide to 
its brains, and even its long tail. 

Occasionally the plane passed over hundreds upon 
hundreds of acres planted in wheat. And again Dad¬ 
dy became teacher and told the children how the 
giant threshing machines worked at harvest time; 
how the wheat went to the great mills, such as the 
one in Minneapolis, where the cub fell into the flour 
barrel; how the wheat was made into flour, the white 
and whole wheat used to make our bread; how many 
cereals come from the golden grains of wheat. 

He told, too, of great fires where accident or care¬ 
lessness have caused thousands of acres of wheat to 
be destroyed by fire. 

As the family flew over this tremendous state of 



i8o 


Flying the States 


Montana, they saw as a picture from the sky, its 
great riches—wheat, cattle and minerals. 

Passing over the range of mountains known as the 
Cabinet Range, the plane passed close to a high 
mountain peak. In fact, the peak was so close it 
seemed that the wing tips might scrape its sides. 

Janet Lee spied a small herd of Rocky Mountain 
goats, and was wildly excited. 

“Look, everybody! Look quick! Billy goats away 
up here. Can you imagine that. Billy goats!” 

The Colonel banked around quickly as he urged 
his wife to try and snap some pictures of this unique 
scene—the snow-capped mountains with the big 
homed goats were silhouetted against the sun. But 
by the time the camera was made ready, the noise 
of the motor had frightened the white animals away. 

Once over the range, bits of cloud and fog began 
to appear in the valleys walled in by high mountains. 
The farther west they flew, the more prevalent the 
fog. Occasionally only the high peaks of mountains 
rising nearly three miles above sea level jutted out 
above the white mist. 

“Just think, Daddy, mountains three miles high! 
Suppose you had to climb them on foot?” 

“Well, Kathryn,” replied her father, “not on foot, 



A Test of Courage 


181 


but we have to climb over them right now. 1 ’ 

And the Colonel gave the family air chariot more 
fuel as they climbed to fifteen thousand feet. 

Two hours had passed since leaving Helena. Mrs. 
Hutchinson, like all people who fly, strongly dislikes 
fog, and as she watched the mist become thicker and 
thicker below, she turned to her husband, saying: 

“George, if the fog spreads out much more, we 
won’t be able to see anything below us.” 

Even as she spoke, the plane passed over another 
high range, and the fog grew denser. 

Two widely separated mountain peaks jutting 
above the fog attracted Kathryn’s fancy. 

“See, they stick out like islands in the ocean, don’t 
they, Mother?” 

“Yes, they do, Kathryn,” replied the mother as 
she turned to her husband, saying: 

“George, do you think we should turn back?” 

“Why, are you beginning to worry, dear?” 

“Not exactly worry, George, but this is a mourn 
tainous country, not flat prairie lands where we 
could easily make a forced landing.” 

“That’s right, Blanche, but we’re away above both 
the mountains and the fog. It’s clear enough up here. 
Look how bright the sun is and how blue the sky!” 



182 


Flying the States 


“Yes, I know all that, 1 ’ replied his wife a little 
impatient, “but suppose we had to land.” 

Kathryn, who was listening to her mother and 
father's conversation, joined the discussion, saying: 

“Oh, Daddy, Mother's right. You couldn't land 
here.” 

“There's always some place to land, Kathryn,” re- 
plied her father, as he patted her hand resting on the 
back of his seat. 

“But there isn't time,” continued Blanche. “Why, 
you can't see the ground at all. “If you tried to come 
down here you'd probably fly into the side of those 
mountains buried in the fog.” 

“Here, you two, let's not worry now. We have 
several hundred miles to fly before we can even think 
about a place to land. And when that time comes, 
we'll probably have passed entirely out of this fog 
area. Come on now, Blanche, smile and be happy,” 
said the Colonel, using all his persuasive power. 

“All right, Mr. Pilot, you're the boss. I'm smil¬ 
ing,” replied his wife as she showed her pretty teeth 
in a somewhat forced smile. 

“There, that's better!” said her husband. 

To keep the family busy, the Colonel planned to 
give them each something to occupy their minds. 



A Test of Courage 


183 


First he handed the radio earphones to Kathryn, tell' 
ing her to tune in for weather reports around Seattle 
and the Northwest. She had often done this before, 
and was proud to help him in his work. 

"When you hear them leading up to the weather 
in this area, Kathryn, give the phones back to me. 

To his wife he gave the task of estimating where 
they were, figuring the time, air speed, direction, 
starting point, wind, and drift. 

To Janet Lee came the task of combing and brush' 
ing the lion cub. This made her happy and Goven 
nor too. He was always pleased to leave his cage and 
sit beside his young mistress while she carefully 
groomed him. 

But the wind drift was much stronger than the 
Colonel and Mrs. Hutchinson estimated and all this 
time the plane was being driven farther and farther 
off its course to the north, unbeknown to the pilot. 

A dense cloud loomed ahead and in a few minutes 
the plane was hurtled about as the strong wind cun 
rents and heavy rain simultaneously struck it. The 
rain was brief and the plane soon came out into the 
open again. But below there still remained the dread' 
ed fog. 

"Maybe the rain will clear it away, 11 said Blanche 



184 


Flying the States 


to her husband, momentarily looking up from her 
work. 

“I don’t think so,” he replied, “the rain only cov' 
ers a small area. Look, you can see the blue sky 
everywhere in all directions.” 

At this moment Kathryn shouted: 

“Oh, Daddy, Daddy, the radio stopped.” 

The Colonel took the ear phones from his daugh' 
ter and tried to tune in on the various stations, but 
without success. Occasionally faint murmuring voices 
could be heard, but that was all. 

“Did you do anything to the set, Kathryn?” he 
asked, as he checked over the tubes, batteries and 
wiring. 

“No, Daddy, I only touched the dials and ear 
phones.” 

Janet Lee, standing in the aisle between the seats, 
was intently gazing out of the window at the passing 
scene. Suddenly a dangling wire caught in the wing 
strut attracted her attention. 

“Look Daddy, there’s a wire hanging down,” she 
said. 

Turning in his seat, the Colonel saw the loose wire 
and knew immediately the aerial had snapped off at 
the point where it led into the receiver. Their brief 



A Test of Courage 


ih 

encounter with the rain and cloud only a few min- 
utes ago had probably been the cause of the damage. 

From one glance he knew it would be impossible 
either to climb out on the strut and recover the wire, 
or reach the other end attached to the vertical fin. 

“What can you do, George?” asked his wife. 

“Nothing, Blanche. It just looks as though we will 
be without radio until we get down,” replied the 
Colonel. Turning to Kathryn, he continued: 

“Kathryn, did you get my weather report at all?” 

“No, Daddy, that is, not around Seattle. I caught 
part of the Salt Lake City report though.” 

“That’s a little too far south to do any good, 
Kathryn,” said her mother. 

“You’re right, the Salt Lake report wouldn’t help 
much, so we’ll have to forget the radio until we get 
to Spokane.” 

On and on flew the plane always westward. But 
the Colonel didn’t know that the strong wind from 
the south was carrying them farther and farther 
north. Of course, he was allowing for some wind 
drift, but above the clouds with no check point, such 
as a mountain, river or anything stationary from 
which he could sight and estimate their drift, ac- 
curacy was impossible. 



i86 


Flying the States 


Near the end of the fourth hour, the Colonel be' 
gan to really worry, knowing he had a founhour 
gas capacity, and there could only be a few more 
minutes of fuel left in the tank. 

Frantically he began searching for a hole in the 
fog, a rift in the mass of rolling vapor, anything 
from which he could judge the terrain over which 
they were flying. For hours now they had' seen 
nothing but clouds and fog. 

Realizing it would be safer to come down through 
the muck while fuel still remained in the tank, he 
pulled the throttle all the way out, allowing the mo' 
tor to idle, then slowly glided downward in a wide 
circle. 

At eleven thousand feet he straightened the plane 
and entered the thick fog. 

“Oh, boy, I hope we don’t hit a mountain,’’ said 
Kathryn, as the plane plunged into the white mist. 

“Maybe we’ll find a gold mine, if we do hit,’’ re' 
torted Janet Lee. 

The Colonel spoke lightly to the children, while 
he attentively watched the instrument panel with its 
many varied instruments. 

“Janet Lee and Kathryn, we’re going to play a 
game.” 



A Test of Courage 


187 


"What kind of a game?" cried Janet Lee. 

"Well call it Finders-Winners." 

"Can Mother play too?" asked Kathryn. 

"Surely, Mother and I, we’re all going to play, 
Kathryn," continued her father, still keeping his eyes 
on the instrument panel and flying the plane at near 
stall speed. 

"How, Daddy? How?" impatiently asked Janet 
Lee. 

"Now, Kathryn, you look out of the window on 
the right side with Mother, and Janet Lee, you look 
out here with me on the left side. Keep looking for 
a hole in the fog, mountains, trees, ground, anything 
at all. The first one to spy anything at all on the 
ground wins a prize!" 

"What’s the prize going to be, Daddy?" ques- 
tioned Kathryn, as her sister asked the same question 
in parrot-like fashion. 

"Anything you want, costing up to $10.00, when 
we get down," answered the Colonel hurriedly, "and 
Blanche, you keep your eyes ahead too, on your side. 
I’ll watch my side," he continued, as all four busied 
themselves, staring out into the dense fog. 

Diving the plane a little, to gather speed, then pull¬ 
ing it up to lose speed, Colonel Hutchinson gradually 



188 


Flying the States 


and carefully lost altitude, slowly bringing the mono- 
plane nearer to the earth in step-like fashion. 

Slowly, slowly they descended, gliding, stalling, 
diving just a little, keeping the air speed around 60 
gunning the motor occasionally to keep it 
from choking or clogging—9,000—8,000—7,000— 
down, down, down. 

“Do you see anything yet? 11 asked the Colonel, 
addressing everyone in general. 

“Not I, Daddy, 11 answered Kathryn. 

“Just old white fog, 11 said Janet Lee. 

“Nothing, 11 said Blanche despairingly. 

“Keep your eyes wide open. Remember a ten-dol- 
lar prize to the winner. 11 The Colonel tried to speak 
gaily, feeling anything but gay in his heart. 

Six thousand feet, five thousand feet, four thou- 
sand feet, and still no earthly object came into view. 

During these fleeting minutes, Hutchinson thought 
how fortunate they were in not having flown straight 
into the side of a mountain already, or having had 
to pull up in some difficult maneuver to avoid hitting 
a great wall of rock, looming up suddenly before 
them out of the fog. He prayed silently that his gas 
would hold out until his loved ones reached the 
ground safety. 



A Test of Courage 


189 

He gunned the motor several times to keep it hot 
and ready to answer with all its horsepower when 
the emergency came. The ball in the center of the 
bank and turn indicator, the arrow just below level 
on the rate of climb, R.P.M. at 200 on the tachom- 
eter dial, each told its story to the anxious pilot. 

The rudder bar straight, wings level, nose slightly 
down, stabiliser set to balance, all these details kept 
eyes, ears, feet, and hands automatically occupied, 
the while his mind kept saying, “You’ve got to get 
down, you’ve got to get down.” 

Four thousand, three thousand, two thousand feet. 
“Please don’t let the fog be on the ground.” Inward¬ 
ly the Colonel was talking to himself. One thousand 
feet—seven hundred feet. 

“Trees, Daddy! Trees!” shouted Janet Lee, just as 
the arrow in the altimeter reached 500 feet. 

“A hole in the fog, Daddy, on my side,” shouted 
Kathryn almost immediately. 

In that tense moment the Colonel banked to the 
right with all the speed and power of the motor un¬ 
der full throttle. Catching a glimpse of the rift, he 
dived down the avenue of thinning white mist. 

“Back in your seats, everyone! Buckle your safety 
belts!” he shouted quickly. 



Flying the States 


190 

Barely 200 feet off the ground, he caught sight 
of a small open space, surrounded by heavy forest. 

Pulling back on the throttle, he put the plane into 
a steep sideslip with the left wing straight down, and 
skimming the tops of the trees as he cleared the last 
one, leveled off about five feet above the ground, 
then dropped the tail into the snow-covered ground. 

But the family luck gave out. The plane sank in 
the snow, hurtled heavily over and badly wrecked, 
lay on its back, with what remained of the under¬ 
carriage pointing skyward. 



Chapter XX 


COMPLICATIONS 


Fortunately the safety belts held, so all four mem¬ 
bers of the Flying Family were suspended head down¬ 
ward from what was now the ceiling of the cabin. 
The lion cub was flung out of his cage and sat dazed 
on what was now the floor. 

Grips, books, pencils, paper, and other articles lay 
scattered all about the interior. Oil from the tank 
was seeping through the fire-wall into the cabin. 

Colonel Hutchinson quickly released himself, 
helped his wife to her feet, and together they un¬ 
buckled the belts holding Janet Lee and Kathryn. 

Rolling down, or rather rolling up the side win- 
191 





192 


Flying the States 


dows, the Golonel helped Janet Lee, Kathryn, then 
Blanche through the window out onto the wing, 
lying top downward in the snow, while he and the 
lion followed. 

No one had cried, screamed, fainted or shown any 
outward signs of fear, but needless to say this, their 
first bad accident in years of flying was quite a shock. 

Sitting together on the leading edge of the wing 
the family tried to collect their senses, as each made 
inquiry as to the other's hurts and discomforts. 

Daddy had a bruised right eye, having bumped it 
on the control wheel. His right knee was also slight¬ 
ly cut, the injury showing through his torn trousers. 
Otherwise, he was all right. 

Mrs. Hutchinson and the children seemed to be 
uninjured, with the exception of sore muscles and 
probably a bruise or two. The cub limped on his 
left forepaw. 

The soft snow had probably prevented the acci¬ 
dent from being a more serious one. The plane, of 
course, was badly damaged. The motor had been 
torn from its mounting; the undercarriage completely 
severed on one side, and badly bent on the other; 
both wings were warped and twisted. The cabin and 
fuselage, together with the tail assembly, were not 



Complications 


i 93 


damaged, but the motor cowling and the propeller 
were badly bent. 

Everyone was thankful that they were uninjured, 
but it looked like the end of the tour with the plane 
so badly wrecked. 

The lion became very affectionate to Janet Lee, 
licking her face and hands with his rough tongue, and 
despite their terrible experience, this scene between 
Janet Lee and her big pussy playmate brought smiles 
to the family. 

The Colonel had no way of telling where he was. 
The fog still hung low everywhere as far as the eye 
could see. Walking a half mile or so, in this direction 
and that, he could find no sign of habitation. He did, 
however, learn enough to be thankful that they were 
all alive. Only a miracle had brought them down 
safely in this small field. 

Three hours passed, and no sign of a human being. 
Some birds twittered and once in a while the howl 
of a wolf could be heard, but otherwise there was no 
evidence of life around them. 

Giant trees surrounded the small field in which 
they had landed, seeming to rise upward as though 
growing from the base of a mountain range, or foot" 
hills. 



194 


Flying the States 


With only a few occasional words, each member 
of the family helped gather their belongings, piling 
them neatly on the wing. 

The Colonel straightened the cabin and removed 
the motor from its damaged mount, after first re- 
moving the newly repaired propeller. 

Mrs. Hutchinson and the children handed him 
various tools, held square nuts and T wrenches as 
he worked dismounting the damaged plane. They 
did anything to keep warm. 

Taking care to mark their footsteps well in the 
deep snow, the children and their mother went in 
search of firewood with the cub tagging and limping 
after them. The damp cold was penetrating. Walk¬ 
ing in the deep snow helped circulate the blood 
and warm the body. 

The three of them were able to find only one small 
armful of wood in this snow-covered woodland, 
and with this they retraced their tracks to the plane. 

With newspapers and the wood Colonel Hutch¬ 
inson started to build a fire, but thought it better to 
drain some gasoline to give the firewood a good start. 

On draining every drop of gasoline from the tanks, 
the Colonel learned the stark truth. There was ex¬ 
actly one quart left. Another minute of flying. 



Complications 


i 95 


With the gasoline he soon had a bright fire burn¬ 
ing and the family were thankful to warm themselves. 

Dusk was nearly upon them when a noise from the 
clearing echoed up the canyon and startled them. 

"Whoa there. Whoa there," could be plainly heard 
in a man's deep voice, shouting somewhere in the 
distance. 

Colonel Hutchinson ran, jumping and staggering 
through the deep snow in the direction from which 
the sound came. As he neared the edge of the clear¬ 
ing, he saw a work horse drawing several logs roped 
onto sleds or runners, just emerging from the woods. 
A very tall man followed, holding whip and reins. 

The Colonel introduced himself and explained his 
position, and the woodsman, giving his name as Red- 
mile, offered to help. 

So the Hutchinson children with their mascot and 
the family personal luggage were loaded on the log 
sleigh and driven into Kitchener, British Columbia, 
while Mr. Redmile, the Colonel and his wife walked 
beside the sleigh. 

During the five-mile trek toward Kitchener, Mr. 
Redmile told about the town with its population of 
exactly fifty people, its hotel, general store, and post 
office, the nearby logging camps, his M.Y. Ranch and 



196 


Flying the States 


his thirteen new-born pigs. He promised the chil¬ 
dren he would show the litter to them whenever the 
Colonel would let them visit his ranch. 

Piecing the day's happenings together, Colonel 
Hutchinson realized that his misjudgment of the ve¬ 
locity of the strong south wind at high altitude had 
been his undoing. The wind and fog, together with 
the broken aerial, combined to defeat the family's 
purpose and bring about this first major accident. 
But here they were, 60 miles north of their course, 
and five miles over the Canadian border in Kitchener, 
British Columbia. All he could do was to make the 
best of a complicated situation. 

At the door of the only hotel in Kitchener the 
strange combination of lion, woodsman, and flyers 
were welcomed by the proprietor, Mr. Johnsen, 
Canadian by choice and Swedish by birth. 

Soon the whole village knew of the plane-wrecked 
family and the presence of the lion cub. Over the 
wires of the only telephone the proprietor of the 
general store sent the story of the misfortune to the 
Nelson newspapers, where it was flashed around the 
nation. 

The evening was a busy one for the family. First 
a doctor looked them over to make sure the accident 



Complications 


197 


would have no physical after-effects. With the ex¬ 
ception of bruises, everyone was in perfect health. 

Secondly, the Canadian Customs had to be satis¬ 
fied, with affidavits and inspection. Third, the insur¬ 
ance agent, representing Lloyds of London, who 
wrote the insurance on the plane, had to be notified. 
Fourth, Mr. Canter had to be notified, as well as 
family relatives, who would undoubtedly be worried 
upon reading the news in the papers. Fifth, plans 
had to be made to complete the dismantling of the 
plane and the shipping of it to some airport for re¬ 
pairs. 

All these things were completed before the Colo¬ 
nel retired for a much needed night's rest. 

As he kissed the children good-night in their bed, 
Janet Lee whispered: “Daddy, I don't mean to worry 
you, because you've had so much trouble today, but 
—but don't forget I won the ten-dollar prize!" 

And the Colonel chuckled to himself as he turned 
out the lights and returned to his room, looking for¬ 
ward to sound and welcome sleep. But no such luck 
was in store. 



Chapter XXI 


THE LION WANDERS IN THE NIGHT 


In the center of the crude hotel lobby there stood 
a wood stove. Scattered about the room with its mv 
carpeted floors were a number of odd shaped rockers 
and straight chairs. In the rear there was a counter 
where the register lay ready to be signed. Behind 
this counter Mr. Johnsen could usually be found. 
On the left of the rather higlvceilinged room, a plain 
stairway led up to the second floor. Here was a hall 
with three bedrooms on each side. 

The large kitchen range and the wood stove pn> 
vided the only heat in the building, except for oil 
stoves, to be used in cases of emergency. 

198 





The Lion Wanders in the Night 


199 


Because the lion disliked sleeping where it was 
cold, the Colonel left him tied to a chair beside the 
stove in the lobby. The family had retired to their 
two adjoining rooms on the left side of the hall on 
the second floor. 

One by one the village people who had crowded 
the lobby left for their homes and soon the lights 
were out, with only the heat from the red-hot stove 
casting its.glow on the sleeping lion cub. 

Nearly midnight someone fumbled with a key in 
the hotel door, struggled and fumbled some more, 
then finally opened the door. An elderly man, stag' 
gering under a mild load of spirits, made his way 
up the wooden stairway in corkscrew fashion. 

Hours passed and the fire grew dim and gradually 
died out. The room became cold. Cold air found its 
way under the ventilated bedroom doors, and down 
the stairs, blowing gently on the sleeping lion. He 
stirred restlessly and awoke. 

Pulling, tussling, tearing and biting the leather 
leash, Governor finally severed his leash and imme' 
diately headed step by step up the stairs. He went 
first to the door leading into the children's room, 
but it was closed. He pushed it with his big paw, 
but it wouldn't open. He tried the Colonel's room, 



200 


Flying the States 


and that too was closed. So he lay down by the 
door. 

But the wind blew under the door sill from the 
open bedroom window; he couldn't stand the cold 
draft. He rose on his four big paws and slowly 
crossed the hall, passing from one door to the other. 
The last door at the end of the hall was open wide. 
He paused on the threshold a moment and then en- 
tered, his soft paws making no sound. 

There were no rugs or carpets covering the rough 
wooden floor, but the bed looked inviting. Hadn't 
he slept in a bed many times before? Surely he had, 
with the Colonel and the children, too! 

So he sprang softly upon the bed. Some one was 
in it sound asleep. He sniffed and sniffed, but could 
catch no familiar scent. A stranger's bed, but every¬ 
one liked to pet him, so surely they wouldn’t mind 
if he curled up next to them, just to keep warm. 

And there he settled down, fast asleep beside the 
man who had staggered up the stairs about midnight. 

Governor was dreaming about lion heaven when 
his bed partner tossed and tossed, turned over and 
opened his eyes. 

The movement roused the cub lion, and he opened 
his big eyes too, just to see how his strange bed- 



The Lion Wanders in the Night 


201 


fellow would like him. Everyone else liked him, 
didn’t they? 

But this man was different. In the darkness the 
lion’s eyes shone as big as half dollars. He opened 
his big generous mouth wide, showed his teeth and 
let out a very friendly roar. This would surely win 
the stranger over. Didn’t everyone always laugh 
when he did it? 

But the elderly man froze in his tracks. Hi6 eyes 
blinked, he let out a yell, jumped out of bed, ran out 
of the room into the hall and down the stairs, holler¬ 
ing at the top of his voice. “Help! Help! Murder! 
Help! Help!” 

Much upset, Governor thought he would soothe 
the old man, who was running about in the cold halls 
clad only in his flannel night gown. But the cub 
changed his mind at the head of the stairs and just 
sat there, while the elderly man peeked through the 
door as he stood with his bare feet in the snow. 

Of course, all the commotion awakened everyone 
else in the house, and peace and quiet only reigned 
again when little Janet Lee took the cub with all his 
hurt feelings under the covers with her, in consola¬ 
tion. 



Chapter XXII 


THE PLANE RIDES THE TRAIN 


At eight the next morning Colonel Hutchinson 
joined Mr. Redmile and four men the rancher had 
hired to help remove the plane to the railroad siding. 

In a crude box sleigh, drawn by two horses, the 
men drove to the small field where the wrecked plane 
had been left. 

The fog had disappeared during the night and the 
day was brightened by the winter sun. As the team 
slowly made its way along narrow winding roads and 
across frozen streams, Colonel Hutchinson had the 
opportunity to study his surroundings. 

High mountains formed a natural wall to the nan 


202 





The Plane Rides the Train 


203 


row valley. A single track railroad followed the val- 
ley from east to west. Giant trees decorated the 
snow-covered mountains. He knew now, more than 
ever before as he looked about him, how lucky they 
were in landing on the only possible field within 
many miles. 

Redmile, a fine specimen of outdoor manhood, 
soon had his crew dismantling the plane under Colo¬ 
nel Hutchinson’s supervision. First one wing, then 
the other were detached from the fuselage. The flip¬ 
pers, rudder, vertical fin and stabiliser each followed 
in order. 

The fuselage, after it was stripped, was carefully 
rolled over onto the box sled. Then the wings, mo¬ 
tor, and other parts were packed and roped on the 
sled. 

It was a long, hard job and great care was taken 
not to damage the plane further. The men took turns 
getting warmed up by the fire they had built a few 
yards from where they were working. 

At last the load was completed and the six men 
followed the sled on foot toward the station. 

Back in the hotel Mrs. Hutchinson remained in 
bed, nursing several bruises and some very sore mus¬ 
cles. The children were taking turns sliding down 



204 


Flying the States 


the snow-covered hills in a large dish pan they had 
borrowed from the cook. The lion ran up and down 
the hill after them while the few village youngsters 
looked on in amazement. 

By the time the strange contraption hauling the 
airplane reached the Kitchener railroad siding, the 
freight car the Colonel had ordered arrived. The en- 
gine had already left after switching the car to the 
siding. 

The job of unloading the plane from the sleigh 
to the freight car was a difficult one. Great care had 
to be taken not to tear the fabric-covered wings and 
fuselage. The separate parts had to be packed so 
that they would not rub against one another or be 
jostled about while the train was in motion. The 
motor was wrapped in many pieces of old cloth. 
Nothing was left behind. Every single part, bent or 
broken, was loaded onto the car. 

It was dusk when the job was over, and all the men 
were really tired from an unusual and hard day’s 
work. The Colonel paid Mr. Redmile for his serv- 
ices and he in turn paid off the men he had hired. 

Returning to the hotel, Colonel Hutchinson se- 
cured some hot water from the kitchen and went up¬ 
stairs to wash and shave. He hadn’t washed all day. 



The Plane Rides the Train 


205 


Somehow early that morning he couldn't muster up 
enough courage to wash in the icy water that filled 
the pitcher in his cold, cold bedroom. Now he felt 
very conscious of his heavy beard and dirty face 
and was anxious to freshen up a bit. 

The day spent outdoors, in work for the Colonel 
and play for the children gave all three of them good 
appetites. That night at dinner the Hutchinson farm 
ily certainly ate more than their share of food. Mrs. 
Hutchinson came down for dinner too. The day's 
rest in bed had done her worlds of good. 

. At the dinner table Janet Lee and Kathryn told 
about seeing a big cave up in the mountains where 
two big bears lived and how the bears were hibernat" 
ing for the winter. The Kitchener children had told 
them all about the cave and the bears. Janet Lee had 
tried to make Governor go into the cave by himself, 
but he wouldn't go. 

Meals were served around a long table where all 
the hotel guests sat together. Tonight, including 
Mr. Johnsen, the proprietor, fourteen people sat 
down to supper. Naturally, most of the conversation 
was directed to or about the family and all the hotel 
guests listened attentively as each member of the 
Flying Family answered questions and told of their 



206 


Flying the States 


numerous air adventures thus far on their flight. 

After dinner everyone assembled around the stove 
in the lobby where the talk on flying continued. Most 
of the local people came in during the evening to see 
the lion and to hear the news. 

Mr. Bundy, the Canadian Pacific Railroad repre- 
sentative, brought the bill of lading and arranged the 
necesary details with Colonel Hutchinson for ship- 
ping the plane to Spokane. The proprietor of the 
general store brought a telegraph message concerning 
insurance on the plane, along with other messages 
from the family's many friends in the East. Mr. Red- 
mile brought the Nelson paper, the whole story in 
bold print across the entire front page. 

The lion also had his dinner, gave himself a bath 
cat fashion, and went to sleep beside the hote stove, 
while the others talked. 

There would be no passenger train stopping at 
Kitchener before noon the following day, so the fam¬ 
ily retired early for a long night's rest. This time 
Governor slept at the foot of the Colonel's bed. 

About midnight the Colonel was awakened by a 
banging and shifting of freight cars, and realized that 
the car carrying the plane was on its way. 



Chapter XXIII 


A LONG DELAY 


Before train time the next morning Mr. Redmile 
called in his sleigh and drove the family out to his 
rustic ranch, a number of single-story log cabins, 
furnished in crude fashion. 

Anxious to show Janet Lee and Kathryn the thir¬ 
teen three-day-old pigs, he was shocked to see the 
old sow had killed four of them in the short time 
he had been away. Because of the intense cold, Mr. 
Redmile had taken the baby pigs inside the cabin to 
keep them warm by the stove during the night. The 
old sow in her animal reasoning would destroy her 
young rather than have them taken away. So Mr. 


207 





208 


Flying the States 


Redmile had to keep the remaining nine in the ranch 
house with him until they grew large enough for 
safety. 

The children fell in love with Rex, the big black 
police dog. And a wonderfully trained dog he was, 
too—as gentle as a lamb, but a vicious protector at a 
single word from his master. He played gently with 
a Maltese kitten, rolling on his back while the kitten 
ran up and down his body. 

The thought of a mother pig killing her own pigs 
had somewhat upset Janet Lee and Kathryn, but 
Rex and the kitten soon turned their thoughts on 
pleasanter things, so much so that they hated to leave 
when the time came to return to the hotel. 

Shortly after noon the family boarded the local 
train for Yak, British Columbia. The conductor 
knew all about the family and the accident. He ex¬ 
tended them every courtesy and introduced Mr. 
Ironsides, the railroad superintendent, and a number 
of the other passengers to the family. 

The short run to Yak was soon made and here 
the family changed trains for Spokane, Washington. 
Nearly the entire population of 500 lined the station 
platform to see the Flying Family and Governor. 

At Eastport, passengers and baggage had to pass 



A Long Delay 


209 


the Customs inspection and again the lion became 
the center of attraction, with the inspectors care- 
fully avoiding personal contact with him. 

The six-hour run to Spokane was without inci¬ 
dent, and the scenery along the high Canadian 
Rockies won the admiration of the family. Today 
they could really enjoy its beauty. At one time or 
another everyone on the train was introduced to 
each member of the Hutchinson family and the fam¬ 
ily adventures had to be told over and over again. 

In Spokane they registered at the beautiful but 
homelike Davenport Hotel, with its canaries, foun¬ 
tain, and lovely flowers lending enchantment to the 
spacious lobby. Here they faced a long delay. 

The damaged plane arrived next day and was trans¬ 
ported by truck to the airport, where the Mamer 
Air Transport Company would complete the neces¬ 
sary repairs. 

But days passed into weeks, and more weeks. New 
wings had to be ordered, the propeller again had to 
be returned to the factory in Pittsburgh. The insur¬ 
ance inspector had to approve all vouchers for ma¬ 
terial and labor. There were delays in the shipping 
of parts. Wire after wire relative to finances, tracers, 
and numerous other details was sent across the con- 



210 


Flying the States 


tinent. All this time the family waited, the Colonel 
fretted, and the lion grew larger. 

The family accepted many invitations to tell of 
their experiences before service clubs, civic organi- 
nations and the schools of Spokane. These activities 
brought them many new friends. 

Because of their long stay in the hotel, a kennel 
was built for the cub upon the roof. If the Colonel 
had charged a quarter for each person who called to 
see the lion, the proceeds would have more than cow 
ered the cost of repairing the plane. Governor be- 
came a mascot for the whole city of Spokane. 

Sometimes the Colonel or the children would take 
him out walking and it was most amusing to see the 
cub in his clumsy manner trailing behind. In the 
lobby he would always head straight for the foun¬ 
tain with its water lilies and goldfish, there to wait 
patiently beside the large, round, concrete basin, un¬ 
til some bold fish would show itself at the top of the 
water. Then, with all the cunning of a young cub, 
he would awkwardly slap the surface of the water 
with his big wobbly paw and stare in amazement at 
the result—usually a wet lion, water all over the 
granite floor and scattered goldfish. But the cub 
would always come back for more. Whenever he 



A Long Delay 


211 


was not on a leash, he would head for the center of 
the lobby and the attractive fountain. 

Once he jumped up on the lap of a woman who 
was engrossed with the day's newspaper. He gave her 
such a start that she was for several minutes abso- 
lutely speechless, while Governor proceeded to lick 
her face with his rough tongue. 

Then, he could do tricks too; sit up, roll over, 
carry the newspaper, box and wrestle with the chib 
dren; fetch and carry a ball and play hide-and-seek. 
With a lion cub all these antics are very funny, and 
people would watch him play for hours at a time. 

He disliked camera men who put black hoods over 
their heads when taking pictures. More than once 
he had jumped up or down from a posed position, 
to chase a bewildered photographer all over the 
place. Once he caught a camera man who was only 
half-afraid, and returned to the Colonel with a piece 
of the man's trouser leg in his mouth, which experi¬ 
ence cost the Colonel a new pair of trousers. 

Guy Toombes, the genial hotel manager, made the 
family perfectly comfortable, because of his occa¬ 
sional gifts of flowers, fruit and candy. He was one 
hotel man whom the children will always remember 
kindly. An atmosphere of complete satisfaction al- 



212 


Flying the States 


ways seems to prevail about the friendly Hotel Daw 
enport. 

The fourth week rolled around, with its daily 
round of breakfast, plane inspection with the insur- 
ance inspector, ordering more parts, lessons for the 
children, lunch, feeding the lion, a short walk, keep- 
ing a diary, reading, supper, occasional bridge or 
a movie, and bed. 

Once the lion nearly broke up a basketball game 
between Gonzaga freshmen and the local high school. 
A cougar is the recognized mascot of the Gonzaga 
College, so the boys borrowed Governor as a mascot 
for the night's game. Everything went along smooth¬ 
ly until the ball accidentally hit the cub. Then he 
grabbed the ball by the lacing and a merry chase 
was on. 

The players of both teams and most of the spec¬ 
tators began to scramble wildly after cub and ball. 
Several times during the chase the lion would stop, 
put his paw on the ball, let out a young roar and 
show his teeth with mouth wide open “a la TarzanT 
When he did this, everyone chasing him would stop 
too, hesitating until the bolder ones could muster 
up enough courage to approach. 

Just as they were about to pounce on him, away 



A Long Delay 


213 


he would go, leaving the boys sprawling on the very 
spot where he had just been sitting. Under chairs, 
over chairs, along the side lines, across the court, 
everyone shouting, yelling, and laughing. Finally the 
cub was cornered, he made a snarling face, and squat' 
ted as if to spring on anyone approaching him. So 
terrifying was his expression that everyone stopped 
dead and a hush fell over the crowd. 

One member of the team, more courageous than 
the rest, slowly, carefully approached the snarling 
lion. Everyone was tense, the lion prepared to spring. 
Someone shouted, “Get a rope, 1 ' another, “Get a 
gun,” but the young man crouching, moved forward. 
A foot from the cub he stooped to pick up the ball 
and grab the lion’s collar, but at that very instant 
Governor made a quick turn about and the young' 
ster fell flat on his face. The cub immediately 
jumped on the young man’s back and started to lick 
the back of the boy’s ears with his long rough tongue. 

At this unexpected turn of events, loud laughter 
rang out over the Gymnasium hall. Of course, the 
game was continued and while the boys played, the 
spectators dubbed the lion’s would'be rescuer Mr. 
Lion Tamer. 



Chapter XXIV 


MORE TROUBLE 


During the fifth week of the family’s forced stay 
in Spokane, the plane was completed. With new 
wings, cowling, undercarriage, and other minor parts, 
the Flying Home looked brand new again. 

On a cloudy March afternoon the Hutchinson 
family made ready to leave, and all their many friends 
in the city gathered at the airport to see them off. 

Once in the air the plane headed due west to- 
ward Olympia, the capital of Washington. But the 
jinx still pursued them. Half-way there, while cross¬ 
ing the Columbia River, the motor quit dead. Be¬ 
cause of low clouds, the Colonel had been flying very 


214 





More Trouble 


215 


low and in this sudden emergency he had to think 
fast. Spotting an island in the middle of the river, 
he maneuvered for a landing, and brought the plane 
down safely without damage. 

The island was uninhabited. Small trees grew at 
one end. The rest of the egg-shaped strip of land 
was covered with weeds and long grass. It was ap¬ 
proximately 1500 feet long and about five hundred 
feet wide. The swift waters of the Columbia River 
bound in by high banks, flowed past the island on 
each side as it rushed onward toward the Pacific 
Ocean many miles distant. 

For hours the Colonel checked the motor, but 
could not find the cause for the forced landing. 
While he worked, Mrs. Hutchinson and the children 
walked about the island exploring and considering 
the possibilities of reaching the mainland. The cub 
tagged along behind them. 

Colonel Hutchinson disliked sending out a call for 
assistance over the radio, particularly when he felt 
that he could right the trouble himself. After check¬ 
ing the carburetor, the magnetos and plugs, he finally 
succeeded in getting the motor to run, but only for 
a few minutes, then it stopped again. 

It was nearly dark, the Colonel was tired, dirty 



2 l6 


Flying the States 


and discouraged, when the family returned to the 
plane. Mrs. Hutchinson spoke to her husband. 

"Well, George, if you don't get the motor going, 
I don't believe there is any way to leave this island, 
unless we swim." 

"What, no boats, or rafts, or logs or anything?" 
he asked. 

"Nothing at all, Daddy," broke in Kathryn, as her 
father dropped his grease-smeared hands to his side 
with a deep sigh. 

"And the water runs awfully swift too, Daddy," 
said Janet Lee. "Too swift for swimming, I bet," she 
added. 

"I judge it’s a good five hundred feet on each side 
to the opposite river bank," continued Blanche, try- 
ing to present their position impartially. 

"Well, if what you say is true, it looks as though 
we'll just have to spend the night in the plane. I 
can't get this motor running right, and even if I could 
now, I wouldn't want to risk a take-off from here in 
the darkness," explained the Colonel to his family. 
All four of them stood gazing at the motor with the 
cowling removed. 

Long after dark the Colonel worked on the motor, 
while each member of the family took turns, holding 



More Trouble 


217 


the several flashlights, passing various wrenches, or 
otherwise aiding the older member of the family in 
his work. 

Chocolate bars, oranges, and a few apples made 
their evening meal. In a thermos, always carried in 
the plane, there were two quarts of cold water. This, 
of course, would last until morning. 

About ten o'clock that night the Colonel decided 
to give up until daylight, when his mind would be 
fresher and he could more easily see the results of 
his labor. 

With the back seat cushions, coats, and sweaters 
the family turned the plane into sleeping quarters. 
Janet Lee with her mother occupied the back seat, 
Kathryn spread out on the seat cushions which were 
laid on the floor between the front and rear seats, 
while the Colonel cramped himself in L'shaped fash' 
ion across the two front pilot seats. 

The clouds moved eastward, stars appeared and by 
midnight a bright moon lighted up the earth below 
as the family slept for the first time in the plane. 

Fortunately, for once the Colonel had not wired 
or radioed ahead of the family's coming, so there 
was no need to report, through the plane’s radio, 
his present predicament. 



2 l8 


Flying the States 


The night passed while Mrs. Hutchinson and the 
children slept peacefully. The Colonel's sleep, how' 
ever, was troubled, and often he looked at the radb 
um dial of his wrist watch to check the time. 

Dawn came eventually, and the Colonel climbed 
through the front window, dropping quietly to the 
ground so that he would not awaken the others. 

With a safety pin he fashioned a fish hook and 
attached it securely to a ball of heavy twine, taken 
from the plane's emergency supplies. He then 
walked across the island to the river edge, where he 
removed his clothing from the upper part of his 
body and washed his face, chest, and arms vigorously, 
using the small bar of sand soap he had placed in the 
pocket of his flying trousers. After drying thor- 
oughly he felt much better, and dressed quickly. 

From a small bush he cut off a branch about seven 
feet long, and to this he attached the line and safety 
pin hook. Using a half dollar as weight, or sinker, 
and pieces of string cut into oneunch lengths as fly 
bait, he cast the emergency fishing tackle into the 
swift running stream. 

Dragging the line slowly upstream, then letting it 
drift downstream, then up, then down again, his 
patience was finally rewarded with a bite. 



More Trouble 


219 


Quickly he jerked on the line and pulled it toward 
him. The object on the other end struggled vig¬ 
orously, but to no avail. The Colonel had caught 
his first fish in the Columbia River. In about on 
hour he added five more to his catch and with his 
prize he retraced his steps toward the plane. 

On the way, he gathered bits of driftwood, leaves, 
twigs, and dried roots. About twenty feet from the 
plane he dug a hole a foot or so in diameter, and 
filled it with newspapers taken from the baggage 
compartment of the plane. Upon this he piled the 
debris he had gathered. 

Returning to the water's edge he gathered a num¬ 
ber of large, flat rocks and stones, together with an¬ 
other armful of firewood. Back at the fire pit, he 
walled it with rock and laid the flat stones around 
the edge. He then made a grate by crossing and re¬ 
crossing many strands of steel wire over the fire pit 
in checkerboard fashion, attaching the ends by twist¬ 
ing the wire around four small key stakes. 

With his pocket knife he then proceeded to clean 
and scrape the fish. At the south end of the island, 
under a cluster of trees he found a pool of clear 
water, evidently fed from springs, with its overflow 
following a shallow ravine to its end, where it emp- 



220 


Flying the States 


tied into the Columbia River. Here he filled the 
thermos with fresh water, washed the cleaned fish 
more thoroughly and then returned to the fire pit. 

Now he was all ready to take up the new duty 
of Chief Cook. But before he got that far, who 
should sneak up behind him but Kathryn, planning 
to startle her father as she put her small hands about 
his eyes while he stooped over the fire pit. 

“Guess who?” she said in a fairly well disguised 
voice. The voice was her undoing. 

“My, you scared me there for a moment, Kath¬ 
ryn!” he exclaimed. “I was so interested in prepar¬ 
ing a surprise breakfast for you all, that I didn't hear 
you moving at all.” 

By this time the older daughter saw the fire pit, 
the fish, the tackle, and the improvised grate. In 
amazement she cried: 

“For Heaven's sake, Daddy, did you go fishing 
this morning and do all this while we've been asleep?” 

“Certainly have, Kathryn,” replied her father, as 
he put a match to the fire. 

“Gee, Daddy, let me do the cooking. Will you, 
please, Daddy, please?” asked Kathryn, pleading and 
all excited at the idea of outdoor camping and cook¬ 
ing. 



More Trouble 


221 


“Do you think you can, Sister, without burning 
the fish?” 

“Sure I can, Daddy, and it'll be fun surprising 
Janet Lee and Mother. They're not awake yet.” 

The fire was soon biasing hot and Kathryn, under 
her father's instructions and watchful eye, acted the 
part of cook. 

It was a pleasant surprise for Mrs. Hutchinson 
when Kathryn opened the door of the plane and 
called: 

“Breakfast is served, Madame! First call for break' 
fast, first call,'' in train fashion. As Janet Lee and 
her mother sleepily climbed out of the plane, still 
clad in their flying togs, the aroma of broiling fish 
reached their nostrils. It smelled good too, and really 
appetising. 

Kathryn hurried back the few feet to the fire, her 
mother and sister at her heels. The Colonel greeted 
them with: 

“Your chopsticks, Madame and Mademoiselles,” 
he said as he handed Blanche, Janet Lee, and Kath' 
ryn each two sticks. One was a straight twig about 
ten inches long, shaved of bark and sharpened at one 
end. The other was a slingshot pronged twig with 
the two prongs also sharpened to a point. 



222 


Flying the States 


“Oh, I just love fresh fish for breakfast,” said 
Blanche to her husband. She gave him a quick kiss 
on the cheek, took the so-called chopsticks he handed 
her and proceeded to spear one of the six appetizing 
fish from the grate. 

Troubles were forgotten as they giggled and ate 
their breakfast outdoors on this tiny island in the 
Columbia River. It was a delicious breakfast too, the 
boneless white meat seemed to melt in their mouths 
and everyone was sorry that Daddy hadn't caught 
more. “At least two more, Daddy, then we each 
could have had two instead of one and a half,” said 
Janet Lee, who had been completely amazed at all 
the things her father had done that morning. “And, 
Daddy,” she continued, “the next time you go fish¬ 
ing you've got to take me. Promise now, promise!” 
she demanded of her father as she held her somewhat 
greasy little fingers away from her clothes. 

“All right, Janet Lee, I'll promise — if you're 
awake.” 

“You wake me up at any time, because I'd love to 
go fishing with you, Daddy,” she replied seriously. 

The sun rose higher and its early morning rays 
lighted up the tiny island. Mrs. Hutchinson went to 
wash at the river’s edge, and found, like the Colonel, 



More Trouble 


223 


that the cold water was most refreshing. The entire 
family had slept in their clothes all night, so Mrs. 
Hutchinson put out a complete change for herself 
and the children, following their bath in the river. 

While the girls and their mother cleaned up, the 
Colonel went to work vigorously on the stubborn 
motor. His untiring efforts were rewarded by find' 
ing a small amount of steel shavings wedged in the 
gas line leading from the left wing tank. This ob' 
struction had blocked the free flow of gasoline from 
the left tank into the carburetor. The right tank 
drained empty and the block in the line from the left 
tank had caused the forced landing. The gas gauge 
still pointed to half full. The swishing of the gaso' 
line in the left tank while maneuvering wildly for a 
landing evidently loosened the barrier partially. In 
this way the lines filled and the Colonel was able to 
start the motor. But when the steel shavings reached 
the opening from the tank into the gas line again, 
the motor sputtered and died once more. It was 
fortunate that it did so while the plane was still on 
the ground, because safe forced landings in succession 
are somewhat of a gamble. The shavings would cer' 
tainly have blocked the gas flow again. 

By draining the gas from the left tank into a five' 



224 


Flying the States 


gallon emergency can, carried in the baggage com- 
partment, the Colonel was able to transfer the gaso- 
line supply into the right wing tank. After patient 
fishing in the emptied tank with screw driver and a 
hooked wire, he withdrew the steel shavings that had 
been carelessly dropped in some time during the re- 
pair work, and was the cause of all the trouble. 

Once the dirty work was over, he followed the 
example set by the other members of his family and 
changed into fresh clothing, after another river bath. 

Real skill was required in getting the family chariot 
safely in the air from the small island, with its high 
weeds and rough ground. But the pilot rose to the 
emergency and they were soon winging their way 
to Olympia, the capital of Washington. 

With as little loss of time as possible the signatures 
of Governors Roland H. Hartley of Washington, 
Julius L. Meier of Oregon; F. B. Balz,ar of Nevada, 
and James Rolph of California, numbers 28, 29, 30, 
and 31 respectively, were added to the Scroll in the 
next two days. 

Stops were made in Olympia, the capital of Wash¬ 
ington; Salem, the capital of Oregon; Carson City, 
the capital of Nevada, and Sacramento, the capital of 
California. 



More Trouble 


225 


The Colonel was trying to make up for lost time. 
Each day meant flying, eating, sleeping, and present- 
ing the Scroll to as many state governors as possible 
without taking unnecessary risks. 

The children as usual resumed their daily lessons 
in their flying classroom. Exercise and song were not 
forgotten. 

From books and observation Janet Lee and Kath¬ 
ryn learned that Washington ranks thirtieth among 
the states in population. It is bordered by the Pacific 
Ocean, British Columbia, Idaho and Oregon in clock¬ 
wise rotation. Its area of nearly 67,000 square miles 
makes it rank nineteenth in size. It has a population 
of 1,633,000. The Cascade Mountains divide the 
State into sections—eastern and western. Seattle, 
Tacoma, Olympia, and Everett are the principal cities 
in the western section. Puget Sound, with nearly 
1600 miles of shore line, is a distinguished feature of 
the western section. There is extensive shipping to 
Asia, Alaska, and eastward via the Panama Canal, 
from the state's many ports and harbors. Lumber is 
the principal industry and it leads all states in cut 
timber. There are also coal mines and great fisheries. 
Salmon, halibut, oysters and cod, are the principal 
fish upon which this great industry depends. Central 



226 


Flying the States 


and eastern Washington are devoted to farming. 
Fruit predominates, with wheat, vegetables, and pas¬ 
ture lands in respective importance. Two great dams, 
Rock Island and the Grand Coulee, help irrigate the 
dry sections of the state. 

Mt. Rainier, the highest mountain, rises 14,408 
feet above sea level. Washington ranks first in apple 
raising; sixth in wheat; also producing potatoes, dry 
peas, peaches, hay and strawberries. It also raises a 
number of cattle, horses, sheep, pigs, and mules. 
There are over twenty million acres of forest lands. 
The state comprises 39 counties, and the Columbia 
is the largest river. 

In flying over Washington the Hutchinsons saw 
its great forests, orchards, wheat lands, ranches and 
farms. Its many waterways, ports, and harbors, high 
mountains, dams, and natural parks formed a clear 
picture for the children gating down on the scene 
below, and they learned how the one and one-half 
million people earn a livelihood through the thriving 
industries of this great state. 

Flying over Oregon the picture was again different. 
Here is a state much larger, with its ninety-five thou¬ 
sand odd square miles, ranking ninth in size, but 
thirty-fourth in population, with slightly over a mil- 












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Mrs. Hutchinson with her daughters 


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I 


More Trouble 


229 


lion people. Like Washington, it too is divided by 
the Cascade Mountains and lumber is the principal 
industry. Oregon is second only to Washington, with 
its nearly twenty-nine million acres of forest land. 

Flying over the fertile Willamette Valley, the fam¬ 
ily saw Oregon's great crop-producing center, a 
stretch of land extending 150 miles southward and 
60 miles in width, bordered by the Cascade Moun¬ 
tains on one side and the Coast Range on the other. 
East of the Cascade Mountains the country is of 
table-land formation, with deep canyons and cone¬ 
like hills. From the Coast Range westward it is moun¬ 
tainous, hilly, and broken. 

Away from the principal cities of Portland, 
Eugene, Medford, Salem, the capital, and the rich 
Willamette Valley, Oregon is rugged, rough, and 
mountainous country, covered with dense forests. 

Janet Lee and Kathryn saw the unique Crater 
Lake, the scenic Columbia Highway, stately Mt. 
Hood; the Snake and Columbia Rivers, the Owyhee 
Dam, one of the highest in the world, the State Uni¬ 
versity at Eugene, and the State Agricultural College 
at Corvallis. Oregon, with its thirty-six counties has 
a rugged beauty, but its rough terrain was no wel¬ 
come sight to the pilot of the Flying Family. 



230 


Flying the States 


For the last two days the weather had been ideal 
for flying. The children had tim'e to study their les- 
sons without interruption. Nothing exciting hap- 
pened. 

The Colonel did race with a mail plane between 
Portland and Medford, the family plane coming in 
ahead when it landed at Medford for gas. This was 
exciting as long as the planes were flying neck and 
neck, but when the Colonel opened up with full 
throttle, the race lost its competitive thrill for Janet 
Lee and Kathryn. 

Nevada, the smallest state in the Union in popu- 
lation, with its ninety-nine thousand people, is a bar¬ 
ren country to fly over. Its enormous area makes one 
realize how thinly populated the state really is. 
Boundary Peak, the highest mountain, rising 13,145 
feet, does not seem very high when the entire state 
averages 5500 feet above sea level. A mountain ris¬ 
ing at sea level to such a great height would be most 
impressive, but since the ground around the base of 
Boundary Peak is already over five thousand feet, 
the thirteen-thousand-foot peak seems small in com¬ 
parison to lower mountains in other parts of the 
country. 

The yellow Colorado River, a few lakes, and end- 



More Trouble 


231 


less miles of desert land, tell the picture story of Ne' 
vada. 

In minerals it ranks thirtyTrst, gold and copper 
being the principal ones. There is some farming, and 
about 377,000 acres of commercial forests. 

Elko, Las Vegas, Lovelock, and Reno are the prim 
cipal cities, Reno with its eighteen thousand people 
being the largest. 

As the children saw the picture of Nevada from 
the windows of their flying classroom, it brought 
vividly to their minds, stories of the stage coaches, 
the pony express, and the gold mining days. 

beautiful weather continued to open the way as 
the plane cruised over the golden state of California. 
The Sacramento Valley, the picturesque shore line 
extending hundreds of miles along the Pacific Coast, 
rugged mountains, the great San Francisco harbor, 
the Golden Gate, the prison at Alcatraz, wide vah 
leys, rolling plains, all formed a picture of color and 
beauty below them. 

From Sacramento they headed for Los Angeles 
and covered the distance in short time. In the movie 
capital of the world the family made the rounds of 
the great studios and watched moving pictures in the 
making. They met many stars; Gary Cooper, Richard 



232 


Flying the States 


Barthelmess, Wallace Beery, Jackie Cooper, George 
Brent, and others. 

There was time to swim in the Pacific, ride horse- 
back along the sporting bridle paths, and enjoy the 
amusements at Venice, Ocean Park, Long Beach, and 
Balboa. 

Janet Lee and Kathryn picked oranges from the 
trees, and peeled and ate them as the family walked 
over some of the great fruit ranches. They saw 
lemons, oranges, lettuce, peas, and cabbage, all grow¬ 
ing in early March. Green grass, beautiful flowers 
and green foliage added to the colorful picture of the 
Golden State of the West. Snow-capped mountains, 
swimming, and skiing in the mountains make it pos¬ 
sible to combine many forms of sport and pleasure 
all within the radius of a few miles. 

So much to see, so much to do, made the departure 
from California hard for all four members of the 
Flying Family. But there was still a job to complete 
—seventeen more states to reach, and seventeen more 
signatures to secure. 



Chapter XXV 


NAVAL MANEUVERS 


Since they were so close to the San Diego Naval 
Air Base, and the great Pacific Fleet was anchored 
off the Coast, the Colonel promised to fly to Phoe- 
nix, Arizona, the next stop, by way of San Diego. 

It was with sincere regret that the family left 
Los Angeles, their new friends, the city officials, 
and the Press, who had made their short stay happy, 
interesting and entertaining. 

On another glorious morning of real California 
weather, the plane rose high in the heavens, passed 
over the great oil fields at Long Beach with its rows 
of giant oil shafts reaching skyward, and followed 


233 





234 


Flying the States 


the Pacific Coast lines toward San Diego. The short 
distance was covered in less than an hour and the 
Colonel brought the plane to a graceful landing on 
North Island, the great government air base. 

The airport seemed almost deserted, only one 
plane was in sight, with two men working on its 
motor. All doors to the hangars bordering the airport 
stood wide open while inside the space was empty. 

As the Colonel taxied up to the hangar nearest the 
Administration office, one of the men who had been 
working on the plane that was standing on the ain 
port, started toward them across the field. 

Kathryn, seeing the man approaching, turned to 
her father and said, 

“It looks as if that man dressed in the flying suit 
is coming over to see us, Daddy." 

And Janet Lee added: “I think he's carrying a 
camera with him, Daddy." 

Both Blanche and her husband were now looking 
in the direction of the approaching man. 

“He probably is a reporter, George," said Blanche. 

“No, Blanche, that's a motion picture camera he’s 
carrying," replied her husband as he rose from his 
seat, opened the cabin door and jumped down to the 
concrete-covered ground. 



Naval Maneuvers 


235 


Mrs. Hutchinson and the children followed the 
Colonel out of the plane. Janet Lee, the last to step 
down, reached her father's side and took hold of his 
hand as the newcomer approached. 

“I am Lieutenant Hamilton," said the stranger, 
extending his hand to Colonel Hutchinson, in friend¬ 
ly greeting. 

“Hutchinson is my name," replied the Colonel, as 
he shook hands. 

“I'm stationed here at the air base," the naval 
officer continued. “As a matter of urgent necessity, 
will you fly me in your plane out over the Fleet?" 

Before Colonel Hutchinson had time to consider 
or reply to this rather strange request coming from 
someone whom he had only that minute met, the 
lieutenant started to explain rapidly. 

“You see, sir, I've been assigned to take movies of 
today's fleet maneuvers. The plane you see standing 
over there has suddenly gone haywire and every 
available plane at the base left the field just before 
you landed here, to take part in today's combined air 
and sea maneuvers. I was supposed to follow, but I'm 
still here. So can you spare your ship and time?" 

“Under these conditions, I certainly can, Lieuten¬ 
ant Hamilton," said the Colonel heartily. 



236 


Flying the States 


“That’s fine, Hutchinson,” replied the Lieutenant, 
who, in his anxiety over his job, had overlooked 
everything else, even the other three members of the 
Flying Family standing by his side. 

‘Til run and get the rest of my equipment,” he 
shouted as he hurried over to the other plane. 

“What’ll we do, Daddy?” asked Kathryn. 

“Can’t we go, too?” asked Janet Lee. 

“I don’t know, children; it depends upon how 
much room we’ll have after he loads his equipment.” 

In a few minutes Lieutenant Hamilton, with the 
help of an enlisted man, brought over another camera 
and a number of cans of rolled film, loading them 
into the plane as fast as he could. 

“All set, Hutchinson?” said the Lieutenant. “Let’s 

g°.;; 

“How about my family, Hamilton? Will they be 
in your way?” asked the Colonel. 

“Not in the least. If you don’t mind flying them 
over the water they won’t be in my way at all,” was 
his reply. 

So the family plane became the official photo- 
graphic plane for the Pacific Fleet. Once under way, 
the lieutenant apologized for his rudeness in appar¬ 
ently overlooking the family, in his anxiety to get 



Naval Maneuvers 


237 


matters arranged. When the officer learned who the 
family were, he realised he was among friends, all 
working for a common cause. 

He explained that the Fleet had left only that 
morning with the planes following several hours 
later. He had the direction, position and time, all set 
down in official typewritten form. With the help of 
maps he had brought with him, the Lieutenant and 
the Colonel, working in cooperation, soon picked up 
the smoke of the fleet on the horizon ahead, as the 
plane flew out to sea. 

Under full throttle the plane flew into camera 
range as the Lieutenant made both cameras ready for 
instant use. 

During the next hour or more Janet Lee and Kath' 
ryn probably saw something no other children in the 
world have ever seen—a great navy in mimic warfare. 

From ten thousand feet they looked down on the 
giant dreadnaughts, light cruisers, and destroyers, dis' 
played in battle formation. Cannons were belching 
fire and smoke one after another, the roar of com' 
bined shooting, and then the smoke screen laid down 
by airplanes formed a wall of smoke that hid the 
entire fleet. 

Literally hundreds of planes left the decks of air' 



238 


Flying the States 


plane carriers, formed into perfect formation and 
dropped bomb after bomb on obsolete ships that 
were set in position as targets. 

Lieutenant Hamilton was busy with his work, 
swinging from one side of the plane to another and 
training his camera in all directions, in all positions, 
as Colonel Hutchinson maneuvered the plane to keep 
it in proper camera range and sight. Anywhere from 
100 feet to 10,000 feet they flew, up and down, bank- 
ing, diving, and turning in their interesting and thrill¬ 
ing task. 

From this high altitude it was just like watching 
toy ships move slowly in perfect coordination and 
formation, but at lower levels the roar of the cannon, 
planes darting by in all directions, the exploding of 
bombs on the steel targets below, ships speeding in 
and out of the heavy smoke screens laid so skillfully 
by both ships and plane; all this was like seeing real 
war; it made the passengers shudder to think of pres¬ 
ent-day warfare on land or sea. 

The Lieutenant was just shooting the last of the 
6000 feet of film he had brought with him, when the 
family plane was suddenly surrounded by a forma¬ 
tion of nine naval planes. 

The children, Mrs. Hutchinson and the Colonel 



Naval Maneuvers 


239 


smiled and waved at the business-like formation sur¬ 
rounding them. But the begoggled men flying these 
ships of war did not return their smile. Serious ex¬ 
pressions were on the faces of the pilots. The Colo¬ 
nel could plainly see the men in the open cockpits 
as the formation nearly touched his wing tips. Each 
pilot signaled for the family plane to descend by 
pointing downward. 

With planes beside him, overhead, behind, and be¬ 
low, the Colonel realized that the formation was pur¬ 
posely trying to force him down toward the water. 
At that moment he was flying about twelve hundred 
feet. 

“What does this mean, Lieutenant?” he asked, 
much puzzled. 

“I don't understand, Colonel Hutchinson. I can't 
get any of them to recognize me and naturally they 
know your plane is not supposed to be in today's 
maneuvers.” 

“It looks as if they've got orders to bring us down,” 
said the Colonel. 

Mrs. Hutchinson and the children were too ex¬ 
cited to talk. All this scene of warfare, and now the 
formation escort made them feel that they were be¬ 
ing drawn into this game of war quite seriously. 



240 


Flying the States 


The Lieutenant tried in vain to identify himself to 
the two pilots nearest the family plane, but all he 
received in return from the officers flying on each 
side of them were negative shakes of the head. 

All this time the plane was being forced down 
lower and lower. 

“Where do they think Fm going to land—on the 
water? 11 shouted the Colonel indignantly. 

“Oh, nothing like that, 11 the Lieutenant assured 
him. “They'll want you to land on one of the air¬ 
plane carriers. 11 

The formation forced the plane gently down in a 
direct line for the airplane carrier bringing up the 
rear of the line of ships. Just above the landing deck 
the escort planes pulled out to the sides and the fam¬ 
ily plane landed on the long deck of the great ship 
known as a mother to the airplane. 

No sooner had the plane come to a stop when two 
sailors opened the cabin doors. An officer followed 
by four bluejackets marched up. Then the officer 
asked in a stem voice, 

“Who is the owner of this plane? 11 

“I am, 11 replied the Colonel instantly. 

“And who is responsible for the camera equip¬ 
ment? 11 asked the officer without waiting a second. 







Mrs. Hutchinson 


















































































Naval Maneuvers 


243 


“I am, sir,” replied Lieutenant Hamilton. 

“Very well, you two men follow me,” ordered the 
officer. 

Knowing that the officer had no authority to do 
other than follow instructions, Colonel Hutchinson 
and Lieutenant Hamilton obeyed without offering an 
explanation. And between the sailors they were 
marched to the Commander’s quarters below deck. 

Two sailors were left to watch the plane. Mrs. 
Hutchinson and the children were not allowed to 
leave the cabin. 

“What are they going to do to Daddy?” asked 
Janet Lee of her mother. 

“Nothing, dear, after they hear his story,” she re- 
plied. “Probably thank him,” she added as an after¬ 
thought. 

“This is the first time we’ve ever been on an air¬ 
plane carrier. Gee, I wish we could walk around,” 
said Kathryn, as she looked out through the windows 
of the plane. 

“Is Daddy arrested?” Janet Lee wanted to know. 

“They can’t arrest Daddy,” said Kathryn indig¬ 
nantly. 

“I wouldn’t say they can't , Kathryn,” said her 
mother, “but if Lieutenant Hamilton is really the 



244 


Flying the States 


person he says he is, then Daddy will be back with 
us in a very few minutes.” 

And only a few minutes it was, before a group of 
officers with the Colonel and Lieutenant Hamilton 
came upon deck and strolled toward the family plane, 
all smiling and chatting in friendly fashion. 

“Its a good thing Hamilton was on official bush 
ness and not a news cameraman, reporter or amateur 
photographer just fooling me, or Fd be sitting in the 
jug, cooling my heels right now,” said the Colonel 
to the group of officers as they neared the plane. 

Instead, Colonel Hutchinson received official 
thanks from the ship's Commander, and a radio 
thanks from the Commander of the Fleet. The farm 
ily was introduced and shown over the great airplane 
carrier loaded with planes. 

The morning had been filled with surprises, thrills, 
mystery, and fun. The final climax of being arrested 
in the air and brought to trial on a ship of war, made 
the day one to be long remembered. 

Leaving their passenger behind, the family bade 
good-bye to the smiling officers and crew, who whole¬ 
heartedly wished them happy landings. Then the 
Flying Home for the first time rose into the air from 
the deck of an airplane carrier. 



Naval Maneuvers 


245 


Circling the giant ships, the Colonel dipped his 
wings in salute and flew eastward toward the thirty- 
second state and the thirty-second capital on their 
tour of the states. 

En route, Janet Lee and Kathryn had their usual 
lessons. This time the subjects were California and 
Arizona. The lessons were extra interesting, mainly 
because California had so many “firsts. 11 This state 
leads all others in the raising of oranges, lemons, let¬ 
tuce, grapes, prunes, dry beans, sugar beets, and 
peaches. It ranks third in barley, fourth in hay, 
eleventh in cotton, and seventeenth in wheat, not to 
mention other crops that contribute millions to its 
agricultural income. 

Sheep head the livestock industry, which also in¬ 
cludes cattle, horses, pigs, and mules. Although Cali¬ 
fornia ranks only tenth in the raising of chickens, she 
ranks first in the number of eggs produced. 

Tuna, sardines, mackerel, flounder, salmon, rock- 
fish, abalone, crabs, and crawfish form the yearly 
catch that runs over twelve million dollars. 

Commercial forests cover an area of over seven¬ 
teen and a half million acres. 

The history of California is packed with drama, 
adventure, intrigues and thrills. From the time Balboa 



246 


Flying the States 


first discovered the Pacific, until this state became a 
part of the United States, there was constant schem¬ 
ing and struggle for possession of its natural riches. 
Gold found in the streams and mountains brought 
thousands to the Pacific Coast and with them law¬ 
lessness and unrest. But time, the great healer of all 
ills, brought peace and riches to those who toiled 
and produced from the natural resources of the 
golden state. 

California, the second largest state with its 155,652 
square miles, and the sixth largest with its 5,639,000 
people, proved to be the most picturesque and in¬ 
teresting state the family had flown over so far. 
Mt. Whitney, for instance, towers 14,501 feet in 
the air, while by contrast, only 70 miles away lies 
Death Valley, 276 feet below sea level. There is 
Yosemite National Park in the north, with its giant 
Sequoias, and the Sierra Nevada Range; and in the 
south the Coast Range, Dry Lake and beautiful Lake 
Arrowhead, each add its touch of beauty to semi- 
tropical California. 

Flying across the eastern border of California into 
Arizona, a widely different picture patterned itself 
below. Fifth in size with its 113,810 square miles, 
Arizona ranks only forty-fifth in population. 



Naval Maneuvers 


247 


Agriculturally speaking, Arizona offers little, a1" 
though it is the second largest lettuce and cantaloupe 
producing state. Cotton seed, cotton lint, hay and 
other products rank far down the list. In minerals, 
Arizona stands twentydhird, with copper and silver 
dominating far over the other minerals. 

To the observer in the sky, Arizona has plenty of 
natural beauty with hot springs, the gloriously cob 
ored Grand Canyon, the Petrified Forest, the Natural 
Bridge, Indian pueblos, and ruins of ancient cliff 
dwellings. The state’s climate has given Arizona a 
worthy reputation as a health resort. 

The family plane, leaving the deck of the airplane 
carrier, headed over San Diego Bay, Ft. Rosecrans, 
the United States Military Reservation, Coronado 
Beach, more mountains, valleys, deserts, and so across 
the California^Arizona state line. 

The day had been packed with thrills and excite" 
ment. As Sky Harbor, the state capital airport, came 
into view, school books were set aside and conversa" 
tion drifted back to early events of the morning. 

Another hour, and the family was again in the air 
with the thirty"second signature added to the Scroll 
—that of Governor H. P. Hunt, the Governor of 
Arizona. 



Chapter XXVI 


THE CLIFF DWELLERS 


High in the air over Arizona, Mrs. Hutchinson 
was reading to the children about the Cliff Dwellers, 
who made their homes in the side of the hills and 
mountains many years ago. The lesson was interest 
ing and held the undivided attention of both Janet 
Lee and Kathryn. 

Colonel Hutchinson too, was listening to his wife 
as she read of the habits and customs of these ancient 
tribes. Little effort was required to guide the plane 
toward Santa Fe, the capital of New Mexico, on this 
cloudless mid'aftemoon. 

With his mind on the strange people who built 
248 





The Cliff Dwellers 


249 


their homes in the side of cliffs, the Colonel was sud¬ 
denly surprised to see row after row of cave-like 
openings in the side of a mountain range they were 
rapidly passing. 

As the country over which they flew was three 
thousand or more feet above sea level, they would 
quite often fly through valleys, past mountain ranges, 
or peaks that rose much higher than the altitude of 
the plane. And it was at one of those particular 
moments that they spied the homes of the Cliff 
Dwellers. 

The Colonel suddenly decided to surprise the fam¬ 
ily, so without a word he banked slightly and circled 
in a wide arc, looking for a place to land. A broad 
smile lit up his ruddy face and a bright twinkle ap¬ 
peared in his blue eyes, as he spotted a wide plateau 
not far from the cliff dwellings. 

The wheels of the plane were almost on the ground 
before the rest of the family knew he was landing. 
When they realised what he was about, Kathryn 
and Janet Lee shouted in chorus: 

“What are you landing for, Daddy?” 

“Is there something wrong?” asked Blanche anx¬ 
iously. 

Before he could answer, the plane was safely down. 



250 


Flying the States 


He allowed it to roll to the very edge of the plateau, 
overlooking a sort of ravine, or valley about six hun- 
dred feet wide. Then bringing it to a stop, he turned 
around in his seat and said, 

“Well, here we are." 

“In Santa Fe, already?" asked Kathryn. 

“Is this Santa Fe?" said Janet Lee rather dubiously. 

“You’ve been hearing about them for the past 
hour, and now here they are in fact—the homes of 
the ancient Cliff Dwellers," said the Colonel dramati- 
cally, as he pointed to the ruins across the valley. 

“Look—Kathryn!" cried Janet Lee, grabbing her 
sister’s arm. 

“Just like what Mother was reading about in the 
book," returned Kathryn, as she looked at the rows 
of caves, wooden ladders, and narrow ledges widen- 
ing in some places into terraces. 

Not a sign of life could be seen. 

“Goodness, do you think Indians or anyone live 
there now, Mother?" asked Kathryn, as the family 
jumped out of the plane and stood on the edge of 
the plateau. 

“Hardly, Kathryn," replied her mother. “For all 
we know they may be ruins a thousand or more 
years old." 



The Cliff Dwellers 


251 


"Let's go over there, climb up and see them, Dad' 
dy," said Janet Lee, tugging at her father's hand. 

"How are we ever going to get over there, much 
less up to the dwellings?" said Blanche. She tried 
to imagine the task it would be to climb down from 
where they were, cross the rock strewn valley, climb 
the ancient ladders or steps, and then retrace their 
steps once more. 

"Well, if the ancient Cliff Dwellers could do it, 
we can, 'cause we're supposed to be smarter, Moth' 
er," Kathryn retorted. 

"That's right, Kathryn," said her father, "we'll 
find a way all right." And off he went, leading the 
way down the rocky reddish cliff, with the cub fob 
lowing him on his leash. 

They made their way safely down to the bottom 
of the ravine, then crossed to the other side and stood 
side by side looking up at the ancient dwellings. 

From the floor of the valley, or ravine, there 
seemed to be no way up to the cliff homes, though 
from one level or row of caves to another, there were 
a number of crude ladders. 

Farther down the valley they found a series of 
steps roughly cut into the rocky sandstone, forming 
a crude sort of stairway. Following their leader, the 



252 


Flying the States 


family carefully climbed, step by step. Near the top 
Janet Lee ran ahead, reaching the first level of the 
cliff dwellings before the others. At the top she 
turned around and shouted back: u Im up first, Fm 
up first!” 

Mrs. Hutchinson, bringing up the rear, finally 
reached the level somewhat out of breath. With 
the family all together, the Colonel removed the 
leash from the cub and allowed him to run loose. 

From where they stood, the nose of the plane 
could be seen resting on the edge of the plateau on 
the other side of the valley. The rest of the plane 
was hidden by a slight slope in the ground and by 
the fact that the family was now on a much lower 
level. 

"Why did people live away up here like this, 
Daddy?” asked Kathryn. 

"Mainly to be safe from sudden attack by their 
enemies, Kathryn. Enemies—beast or man—climbing 
up to fight, could be more easily repulsed with stones, 
bow and arrow, or long poles used to push or drive 
them back,” explained her father. "Then too, they 
were safe from floods or dampness. Their homes 
would always be dry. By digging or hollowing out 
space in the side of a mountain, walls, floors, and 



The Cliff Dwellers 


253 


ceiling were obtained naturally and only the doors 
or windows had to be cut into the outside wall.” 

Janet Lee thought the Cliff Dwellers 1 homes were 
like little apartment houses after one reached the first 
level. A sort of front porch, a window, a door, then 
the roof of the house on the first level would serve as 
front porch to the house on the second level, and 
so on—level after level, each one dug deeper into 
the mountain side. 

Matting woven from grass, rotted and covered 
with dust, hung in some of the windows and door- 
ways, affording privacy to the ancient homes. 

The Colonel went inside of one of the cliff houses. 
It was dark, so he struck a match. In the dim light 
he was surprised to see grotesque pictures painted in 
color along the walls—pictures of animals, people, 
birds, vases, bowls, and ornaments. He called 
Blanche and the children and showed them the draw¬ 
ings of these ancient people. 

Some of the dwellings had more than one room 
and it was in one of these multi-room affairs that 
the family were startled by strange noises coming 
apparently from the room immediately adjacent to 
the one they were in. 

The Colonel struck another match. Outside a 



254 


Flying the States 


breeze was stirring and it whistled softly through the 
rooms, making moaning sounds. 

The draft blew out the match, and in the darkness 
the rattling metallic knocking again came from the 
other room. 

“Let's get out of here, Daddy," -said Janet Lee 
in a somewhat frightened little voice. 

“You can go out if you want, Sister," said her 
father. “Mother'll take you." 

“Aren't you coming, too?" said Blanche as she 
made her way toward the dimly lit doorway. 

“No, I'm going to find out what that noise is," 
replied her husband, as he struck another match and 
entered the adjoining room. 

“We'd all better stay together, Mother," broke 
in Kathryn, deciding she'd rather be with her father 
in times of danger. 

So the three more timid ones held on to their fa- 
ther's coat as he entered the room, holding the match 
high over his head. The light flickered and went out. 
Again came the rattling noise, this time louder than 
ever, and with it a scuffling and scurrying. 

“Some one's moving," shouted Kathryn. 

“What is it, George?" whispered Mrs. Hutchin¬ 
son in a startled voice. 



The Cliff Dwellers 


255 


“Oh, Daddy, 1'm scared, Fm scared!” whispered 
Janet Lee. 

Father quickly struck another match and cupped 
it with his hands to cast the light toward the corner 
from which the noises were coming. 

The light fell on an object crouching in the con 
ner of the room. It was Governor, the family mascot, 
gnawing on a bone, one of several lying in a heap 
at his feet. 

“Why, you big African pussy cat, you nearly 
scared us to death,” said Kathryn in a relieved voice, 
a6 she took the leash from around her father's shouF 
ders and snapped it on the cub. 

The Colonel was laughing as he stooped over to 
pat the family mascot, holding another match he had 
lighted in his left hand. But while in a kneeling 
position he glanced at the pile of bones. “For heav¬ 
en's sake, they're human bones, skull and all!” he ex¬ 
claimed. 

This was too much. Kathryn, Janet Lee, and Mrs. 
Hutchinson made a hurried exit. The Colonel wasn't 
so slow in leaving, either, but the match went out 
and before he could light another, he walked into the 
wall, bumping his head. 

“Ouch!” he hollered, his voice reaching the family, 



Flying the States 


256 

who by now was outside in the -very welcome day- 
light. He was leading Governor. 

“Daddy, Daddy, what's the matter? Are you 
hurt?" cried Janet Lee, summoning enough courage 
to stop and look back through the doorway. 

“I'm all right," cried her father, as he came through 
the door, a big red mark on his forehead. “I just 
bumped my head." 

Needless to say, the family made very good time 
climbing down from the house of bones. They drew 
a breath of relief when they reached the plane again 
safely. Their visit to the long-deserted homes of the 
Cliff Dwellers had been interesting, until the human 
bones entered the picture. But Janet Lee and Kath¬ 
ryn both felt that as far as they were concerned, 
ancient ruins were best left alone and undisturbed. 



Chapter XXVII 


THE DUST STORM 


The adventure with the human bones must have 
aroused the wrath of the Indian gods, because the 
plane had hardly left the ground when a strange force 
entirely new to the Flying Family reared its ugly 
head to hinder their progress. 

Flying a compass reading of 56° toward the thirty- 
third state capital, the family plane entered into a 
low scattered cloud area. Although they were only 
a few thousand feet above the wide prairies below, 
the altitude meter pointed to 9000 feet, which meant 
that the country over which they were flying was 
7000 feet above sea level. 


257 





*58 


Flying the States 


On they flew. The clouds became thicker and it 
began to rain very hard. With full throttle the 
Colonel strove to reach Santa Fe before dark. Sud" 
denly the rain stopped and the sky line ahead changed 
into an ugly brownish colored vapor, which seemed 
to form a wall straight up from the ground. 

The plane broke through this wall, and immediate" 
ly was enveloped in dust. The family realised now 
that they had encountered one of the deadly dust 
storms that had been ravishing the West for the 
last few years. 

Through the open window dust poured into the 
cabin, and Mrs. Hutchinson quickly closed it. 

Through the controls, engine and openings in the 
fuselage, the dust still seeped into the cabin. The 
family began to choke. The dust caused a dry and 
irritating sensation in the nostrils, and breathing was 
difficult. 

In the few minutes before the Colonel had fully 
realised the seriousness of flying in a dust storm, the 
plane had penetrated miles into this whirling mass. 

Coughing and choking, he quickly banked the 
plane around and tried hard to ride out of the storm. 
But the dust which had filled the cabin made breath" 
ing too difficult—he must land immediately. 



The Dust Storm 


259 


Diving straight down, side slipping as the plane 
neared the ground, he made a swift landing on the 
sandy prairie covered with sagebrush. 

With handkerchiefs to their mouths, eyes red and 
burning, the family jumped from the plane and fob 
lowing Father’s instructions, lay flat on the ground, 
covering their heads with coats and towels while 
still holding the handkerchiefs to their mouths. 

In a smothering dust storm, one has no desire to 
talk. So for minutes that seemed hours, the family 
lay on the ground under the wings of the plane, 
waiting in silence. The cub lion in his small cage was 
partially sheltered, although he, too, was experience 
ing discomfort. 

The small area of the cabin had become so filled 
with smothering dust that it seemed better to take 
their chances outside. 

As they lay huddled together, night crept upon 
them. Clouds overhead became darker and it began 
to rain—yes, rain—yellow, muddy, raindrops. 

The rain partially cleared the atmosphere and the 
family was able to leave their shelter under the wing. 
Opening the cabin windows and doors, they managed 
to air and clean the dust-filled compartment. It con¬ 
tinued to rain and rain. 



Flying the States 


260 

The family mascot was included in the general 
cleaning and the dust fairly flew from his soft coat 
of fur, as Janet Lee and Kathryn combed and brushed 
him. Hard work began to make them all hungry. 

“How about eating, Daddy?” asked Janet Lee. 

“Yes, Daddy, I could eat a goat right now,” Kath- 
ryn said. 

For the first time the family plane was without 
emergency rations. Even the thermos had not been 
refilled with water. 

“What are we to do, George?” asked his wife. 

“I don't know,” answered the Colonel, “I know 
there is no chance for a safe take-off from here to¬ 
night. It looks as if we'll have to go hungry through 
the night, unless we eat the lion,” he added with a 
smile. 

“Daddy, don't say such a thing!” said Kathryn 
in a most serious manner. 

“You can't eat African lions,” added Janet Lee. 

Blanche suddenly caught sight of a light shining 
in the distance. 

“Look, look!” she cried. “There's a light!” 

A half mile or more away they could make out 
what seemed to. be a light burning in a window, 
toward the east. 



The Dust Storm 


261 


The Colonel prepared to set out for the supposed 
house, and was putting on his heavy army raincoat, 
when the howl of many coyotes in the distance put 
an end to any idea of his going alone. Blanche and 
the children weren’t going to stay on the prairie all 
by themselves at night. They would go with him. 
So the four members of the Flying Family, with Gow 
ernor following on a leash, headed for the distant 
light. 

It was slow going, over the sandy, brush-covered 
prairie in the rain. Once in a while one of them 
would trip over the sagebrush, or a big jackrabbit 
darting in front would startle them; and the con¬ 
tinued howling of the coyotes hurried their steps as 
they stumbled in the direction of the light. 

At last they reached a crudely built squatter’s 
shack. Just four sides, with one door, three windows 
and a sloping roof covered with odd bits of tin ex¬ 
tending over its edges. 

As the family approached the door in the steady 
rain, it opened and a man holding a long, double- 
barreled shotgun stood on the threshold. Two wom¬ 
en, one on each side, peered over his shoulders. 

“Who’s there!” he shouted, peering into the dark¬ 


ness. 



262 


Flying the States 


“Don’t be alarmed,” Colonel shouted back. “We’re 
just a family in distress.” 

At the sight of the family the stranger quickly 
set his gun back against the wall and with the two 
women, welcomed the party to the house. 

Governor, of course, caused the usual excitement 
and explanation, but with these people of the prairies, 
there was little fear. The shack was a one-room, 
dirt'floor affair with a large double bed, a single cot, 
a wood stove, a table, and a number of odd wooden 
chairs. No conveniences such as bathroom or rum 
ning water, not even a kitchen sink, were to be seen. 
Their host’s name was Howlett. He was a war vet' 
eran, living there with his wife and her sister. 

The Government had deeded him squatter rights 
to a large acreage of wild prairie land, on which he 
was striving to eke out a bare living. 

Mrs. Howlett soon prepared a tasty supper of 
bacon, eggs, and delicious hot biscuits, which they 
ate, sitting around the small table on makeshift 
benches and odd chairs. 

The Hutchinsons and the Howletts each in turn 
had something of interest to tell one another, the 
adventures of a family who fly about the world and 
the adventures of a family living miles away from 



The Dust Storm 


263 


any neighbors, seeking their fortune from the earth. 

So the two families talked and talked. Janet Lee 
and Kathryn grew tired, stretched themselves across 
the double bed and were soon fast asleep. 

If anyone could have looked in on the mixed gath- 
ering that night, they would have witnessed a strange 
sight. All four members of the Flying Family, to- 
gether with Mr. and Mrs. Flowlett, were stretched 
width-wise across the double bed, fully clothed, but 
in deep slumber. Mrs. Hewlett's sister occupied the 
narrow cot. 

Governor, with his leash tied about the leg of the 
double bed, lay asleep on the earth floor as close to 
the dying wood stove as the length of the leash 
would permit. 

Along the wall, on one side of the room, thirty or 
more chickens, of all shapes, colors and sises, were 
roosting on narrow wooden perches, extending the 
width of the cabin in step-like fashion. Several times 
during the night the lion attempted to snare a chick¬ 
en, but his leash yanked him to his senses. Those he 
awakened went back to sleep again and the other 
chickens remained undisturbed. 

Outside the rain beat down on the roof, the co¬ 
yotes howled and insects made strange noises. 



264 


Flying the States 


Such was their night on the prairies of New Mexi- 
co—six in a bed—the chickens, the lion, the coyotes, 
and the rain. But the night passed and the family 
slept soundly. Dawn was to bring new adventures. 

The early morning sun was just lighting the sleep- 
ing countryside when there came a loud knocking at 
the door and a man's voice cried out. 

“Open up! Come on, open up in there! 1 

The rapping on the door and the deep masculine 
voice awakened everyone. Howlett was the first one 
on his feet, and grabbing his shotgun he approached 
the door and asked loudly: 

“What do you want? Who are you anyway? 11 

“It's the law, 11 came the answer. “We've got 
you surrounded, so come out with your hands high. 11 

“You're crazy," returned Howlett indignantly, as 
he prepared to open the door. 

Meanwhile Colonel Hutchinson peeped through 
the window curtain and was surprised to see a dosen 
or more men, each with long barreled guns. Some 
were dressed in the garb of sheriffs, while others 
were typical western farmers, or plainsmen. One of 
the men held two huge blood hounds on a leash. 

“It's the law all right," said the Colonel. “We'd 
better go out as they say." 



The Dust Storm 


265 


“Gee, Daddy, what have we done?” asked Janet 
Lee sleepily. 

“Nothing, Sister, it's just a mistake,” said her 
father, as they all stared at one another in bewilder- 
ment. 

“Come on, in there. Hurry, and no tricks,” again 
said the voice outside. 

So the Hutchinson and Howlett families, with 
their hands raised above their heads, filed out of the 
door in single file to be immediately surrounded by 
a dozen armed men. 

It didn't take long to clear the situation and the 
would-be bandit catchers seemed very crestfallen 
after they fully realized their mistake. 

It seems that a bank robbery had been committed 
in Magdalena, New Mexico, the day before, by a 
band of masked men. Posses had been sent out in 
all directions, on foot, horseback, and in automobiles, 
to get the bandits dead or alive. 

An airplane flying over from Albuquerque joined 
in the search and early that morning spied the family 
plane on the prairie. The pilot flew back to Mag¬ 
dalena to report his find, and men were immediately 
dispatched to catch the bandits before they could 
make their getaway in the plane. 



266 


Flying the States 


Everything did fit in nicely—the robbery, the loot 
taken to this lonely shack in the prairie, to be divided, 
and then a getaway in the plane waiting for them. 
Here were real twentieth-century outlaws. But in¬ 
stead of outlaws, the law found the Colonel and his 
flying family spending their first night on the prairies. 

So the Howlett family, the sheriff and his deputies, 
gave the Flying Family an official send-off from the 
bad lands of New Mexico. From the ground these 
stout-hearted men of the western plains waved their 
hats and cheered as the family plane rose from the 
ground, circled, wiggled its wings and disappeared 
toward the east. 

All during the flight to Santa Fe the family laughed 
and joked about the adventures of the past twenty- 
four hours. School lessons, the country below, every¬ 
thing but the experiences of the morning were for¬ 
gotten. 

But it would be too much to expect the children 
not to tell the first person they met all about the 
bandits and the night in the prairie shack. And that 
first person was Arthur Seligman, the aristocratic- 
appearing Governor of New Mexico, who added sig¬ 
nature number thirty-three to the rapidly filling 
Scroll. 



Chapter XXVIII 


NIGHT FLYING IN THE RAIN 


A good meal and hot baths, together with the in- 
terview with the Governor, took up most of the 
morning and part of the early afternoon. Then there 
was the servicing of the motor after the dust storm. 
This, too, added to the delay. So it was rather late 
in the afternoon when the family plane took to the 
air for Oklahoma City, the capital of Oklahoma. 

For the first hour, while the Colonel played hide- 
and'seek with one rain cloud after another, Mrs. 
Hutchinson acted as teacher to her small class. This 
time the subjects were New Mexico, Texas, and 
Oklahoma. 


267 







268 


Flying the States 


On they flew from scattered rain clouds into 
steady, heavy rain. In spite of adverse weather, how- 
ever, they landed at Amarillo, Texas, in good time. 
Here they refueled, received an up-to-the-minute 
weather report and against better judgment took to 
the air again in the rain. 

Harder and harder it rained and once more they 
followed the railroad track, winging their way east¬ 
ward, barely two hundred feet above the ground. 
Dusk and then darkness fell, earlier than usual, be¬ 
cause of the weather. The tracks were no longer 
visible. 

The Colonel watched the radium dials of his in¬ 
struments shining in the darkness, while Mrs. Hutch¬ 
inson and the children sat quietly in the darkened 
cabin. 

It was a heavy rain, and occasionally flashes of 
lightning lit up the sky. 

Railroad tracks were no use now, he must depend 
on his compass and directional gyro; there must be 
no mistakes flying in the darkness. With a limited 
gas supply, Colonel Hutchinson knew he must keep 
in his course and hit Oklahoma City right on the 
head. Night landings anywhere but on an airport 
are dangerous, and in a driving rainstorm, doubly so. 



Night Flying in the Rain 


269 


As the plane sped on, clipping off a hundred and 
fifty miles an hour, the lights of widely separated 
small towns would flash by as the speeding plane 
raced eastward. Once in a while the Colonel would 
skim low over the house tops, to catch a glimpse of 
the name of the town or a railroad station, building 
or electric sign. In this manner he was able to check 
his position on the maps and although it was night, 
his keen eyes often read the signs he was looking 
for as the plane fairly shot by. 

The rain beat against the windshield and the 
warmth of the cabin against the outside cold, made 
the glass windows and windshield misty. The Colo- 
nel managed to keep the glass on his side of the plane 
wiped clean, while Mrs. Hutchinson took care of the 
right side and rear windows. 

Kathryn and Janet Lee fell asleep with their heads 
resting on their mother’s lap, as they lay on each 
side of her. 

It was nearly nine o’clock that night when the 
Colonel saw the lights of Oklahoma City, a dull glow 
in the distance. Wide open, the plane shot across 
the city and headed for the flashing beacon on the 
local airport. 

They circled the field several times before coming 



Flying the States 


270 

in for a landing. There were some red obstructive 
lights, but there were no green runway lights. Bring' 
ing the plane in on a gentle glide, the Colonel made 
a successful landing in the soft mud, sinking in up 
to the hub of the wheels. 

The plane circling at night had attracted a number 
of automobiles to the airport. No sooner had the 
plane come to a stop than a small tractor left th& 
hangar and drove across the muddy airport toward 
the mired plane. Despite the rain, a small crowd fob 
lowed on foot. By aid of the tractor the mud'spat' 
tered plane was towed into the hangar. The airport 
attendants and the crowd were surprised to see the 
family and the lion emerge from the cabin. The Fly' 
ing Family were the first ones to land on the airport 
in three days, as all planes in that section had been 
grounded because of the three'day rain and the 
muddy condition of the airport. 

The long day’s flight over New Mexico, across the 
panhandle of Texas, and into Oklahoma, had been 
trying to the pilot. He had flown steadily for over 
six hours in the rain and night. 

That night, needless to say, each member of the 
family welcomed the good dinner, the warm bath 
and their long night’s rest in comfortable hotel beds 



Night Flying in the Rain 


271 


in Oklahoma City. While they slept, the morning 
newspapers went to press, bearing these headlines: 
“GUARDIAN angels bring flying family 

TO OKLAHOMA CITY” “FIRST FAMILY OF THE 
AIR LAND HERE SAFELY IN DRIVING RAINSTORM 
AT NIGHT.” 

***** 

By eleven the next morning, the thirty-fourth sig¬ 
nature had been added to the Scroll. The family had 
been given a friendly reception by Governor William 
H. Murray, known nationally as “Alfalfa Bill,” and 
an official escort had taken them back to the airport. 

The plane had been washed and serviced during 
the night and was all spic and span. Then the Colo¬ 
nel taxied slowly through the mud to the runway. 

The rain had stopped during the early morning. 
A strong wind was rapidly drying the wet ground, 
aided by the bright sun, which showed itself for 
the first time in three days. 

Once again it was school time for Janet Lee and 
Kathryn, as the family plane headed south for Aus¬ 
tin, the capital of Texas, the largest state in the 
Union. Ranking fifth in population, Texas leads all 
states in the raising of cotton lint, cotton seed, onions, 
grapes, spinach, mules, and sheep. 



272 


Flying the States 


Looking down on Texas as a picture from the sky, 
it was easy to see that stock and cotton raising, as 
well as the great oil fields with their many affiliated 
industries formed the chief industry of the Lone Star 
State. 

They winged their way over Ft. Worth, Dallas, 
and still farther south to Austin, and the family plane 
made another stop on its historical flight. 

Here the signature of Ross Sterling, the thirty- 
fifth state governor, was affixed to the Scroll. The 
genial Governor with his lovely wife showed the 
family over the Mansion and the children were 
thrilled to lie on Sam Houston’s four-poster bed. 

Colonel Hutchinson, with his wife and the chil¬ 
dren, signed their names in the historical guest book 
kept so neatly by Mrs. Sterling, and then once again 
set out on their flight eastward this time, and headed 
for Baton Rouge, the capital of Louisiana. With one 
stop at Beaumont, for gas, the plane soon left Texas 
behind. It flew over the great swamp lands of Louisi¬ 
ana, crossed the Mississippi River and landed with¬ 
out mishap on the Baton Rouge Airport. 

Here Huey P. Long welcomed the family and 
added his signature as Governor of Louisiana, making 
number thirty-six on the Scroll. 



Night Flying in the Rain 


273 


A hurried flight was made to Jackson, Mississippi, 
where they learned that Governor Bilbo was at his 
summer home in Poplarville, and off the family flew 
to secure signature number thirty-seven. 

In his newly built summer home, Thomas Y. Bilbo 
added his signature to the Scroll and after friendly 
good wishes all around, the family returned to Baton 
Rouge, where they spent the night in a hotel. There 
was another bathroom bed for the lion. 

Over three-fourths of their task was now com¬ 
pleted. The family had faced about every flying con¬ 
dition possible—snow, rain, fog—every conceivable 
form of good and bad weather. Despite mishaps and 
damage, they were still on their way. 



Chapter XXIX 




MAKING UP LOST TIME 


During the next two days the family covered five 
states—Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, and 
West Virginia. 

In beautiful spring weather, with the country be' 
low taking on its annual mantle of green, the family 
plane winged its way northward from Baton Rouge 
along the muddy Mississippi River to Little Rock, the 
capital of Arkansas, where Governor Harney Parnell 
was next to sign as the thirty'eighth signer. 

Then they flew northeastward across the Great 
Smoky Mountains to Nashville, capital of Tennessee, 
where Governor Henry H. Horton added his name. 






Making Up Lost Time 


27S 


The plane sped northward, this time to Frankfort, 
the capital of Kentucky, where Flem D. Sampson 
became Governor number forty to sign. 

Still further northward they went to Columbus, 
the capital of Ohio. Here Governor George White 
cheerfully welcomed the Flying Family, and affixed 
his name as number forty-one. 

Eastward from Columbus, the party flew over the 
level farm lands of Ohio, into the rolling mountain¬ 
ous state of West Virginia. Here in Charleston, Wm. 
G. Conley was next in order as State Governor num¬ 
ber forty-two. 

Flying over the Central States was a wide contrast 
to flying over the thinly populated states in the far 
West. The level contour of most of the country 
made flying a pleasure to the pilot, with the knowl¬ 
edge that there were always safe emergency landing 
fields below. Frequent towns, cities, or villages made 
the checking of position on the maps quite simple. 
Then too, there were many more railroads and heavy 
traffic highways. 

In their flying classroom, Janet Lee and Kathryn 
added to their knowledge as the natural color picture 
of these five great states unrolled before their eyes. 

Arkansas, twenty-sixth in area, and twenty-fourth 



276 


Flying the States 


in population, with its two million people; Tennessee 
thirty'fourth in area and fifteenth in population, with 
three million people; Kentucky, Ohio, and West Vin 
ginia—each state told its story of farming, industry, 
and natural resources. 

The children really enjoyed going to school in the 
skies. It was loads of fun learning history and geog' 
raphy like a game. Kathryn and Janet Lee were grad' 
ed according to their ability in listing each state’s 
area, population, names of mountains, rivers, lakes, 
principal cities, principal industries, crops in their 
order of importance, and production; the name of 
the present governor, his length of office, the number 
of counties, the historical background of the state, 
including battle dates, prominent early settlers and 
nicknames of the various states. They had to know 
the state capitals, how high the mountains are, the 
source and mouth of each river, the minerals of each 
state, as well as the general weather and climatic 
conditions. 

Then describing and guessing cloud formations 
was good fun, as well as naming the stars, and listing 
in productive order the states as they rank in the 
raising of cattle, oranges, potatoes, etc. An unusual 
education, and one that any boy or girl would enjoy. 



Making Up Lost Time 


277 


Flying five states in two daylight days had been 
more or less routine work. Taking advantage of the 
beautiful spring weather the Colonel was now striv¬ 
ing to make up for all the time they had been forced 
to lose since starting their flight through the states. 

Meantime, Governor was growing not only in at¬ 
tractiveness, but in actual s ize. As the Flying Lion, 
he was making a reputation for himself, having al¬ 
ready flown over twenty thousand miles and through 
forty-two states. 

Another rainy morning found the plane flying over 
the woody, mountainous country between Charles¬ 
ton, West Virginia, and Montgomery, Alabama. 
Even under such poor weather conditions the Colo¬ 
nel kept on his course and covered the six hundred 
miles in four hours. 

Landing at the Army Airport, the family was wel¬ 
comed by another large crowd. Officially escorted 
to the Governor’s mansion, they secured the forty- 
third signature, that of Governor B. M. Miller of 
Alabama. 

The same day, as the skies cleared, the family 
chariot carried them to Tallahassee, the capital of 
Florida. Here Governor Daye E. Carlton in his 
home, affixed the forty-fourth signature to the Scroll, 



278 


Flying the States 


Aided by a police escort to and from the airport, 
the Colonel was able to fly the plane from Talk' 
hassee to Atlanta, the capital of Georgia, arriving 
there shortly after dark. Here, with another escort 
leading the way, the family completed another day 
of real flying by securing the third signature in twelve 
hours, that of L. G. Hardman, the forty-fifth chief 
executive to sign the Scroll. 

Flying in one day over three of the great southern 
states—Alabama, Florida, and Georgia—with stops 
in each capital, gave the family a bird's-eye view of 
the tobacco and cotton country of the South. As 
usual, there were the day's school lessons, but some¬ 
how on account of the speed they were making and 
the tenseness in nearing the finish of a long and ad¬ 
venturous flight, the actual flying between capitals 
became a matter of routine. 

Snow, high mountains, wind storm, even fog 
seemed to be forgotten as the near sea level south¬ 
land was rapidly covered. 

A good hot dinner, a warm bath and a long night's 
rest for each member of the family, including Gov¬ 
ernor, was another welcome routine to wind up the 
day’s work. 



Chapter XXX 


THE JOURNEY’S END 


At Chandler Field early the next morning, Colo- 
nel Hutchinson had just finished checking over the 
plane when he saw an autogiro coming in for a land¬ 
ing. 

The rest of the family and the lion were sitting 
on benches outside of the Administration Building, 
until the Colonel was ready for them to climb aboard. 

Of course, he had seen autogiros before, but not 
one like this. So Colonel Hutchinson walked over to 
the ramp in front of the hangar toward which the 
autogiro was now taxiing, following its almost verti¬ 
cal landing. 

279 





28 o 


Flying the States 


Janet Lee and Kathryn seeing their father's move- 
ment, immediately set out after him on the run, with 
the cub chasing after them. 

The three Hutchinsons reached the plane almost 
together, just as the pilot climbed out of the cabin. 
Introducing himself and family to the tall middle- 
aged pilot, the Colonel began inquiring about the per¬ 
formance of this new cabin-type autogiro. 

He learned that this four-passenger, nicely-uphol¬ 
stered cabin model was the first one manufactured 
by the Pitcairn Autogiro Company, and for the time 
being was still in experimental stages. 

The fuselage of the plane was painted silver and 
so were the wings, while the vanes, of course, were 
natural varnished wood. Heretofore, autogiros had 
been built on the two-seat, open cockpit model. This 
one was the usual stubby wing type, but the four- 
passenger cabin replaced the conventional open cock¬ 
pit. 

The Colonel was much interested to see an auto¬ 
giro that could carry four passengers, thinking it 
might be useful for his family travels of the future. 

Accepting the pilot’s offer, the children, the lion 
and the Colonel joined him in a flight over Atlanta. 
Hovering in the air almost in one spot, rising practi- 










IWOIER'S AERIAL MESSENGER 


FLYING FAMILY VISITS IN ATLANTA 


J g*« j THK FLYING Hi T( HINSON 

Plan Air Tour of World 


Overnight Stop at Airport Here Made By 

Flying Family Bearing Prosperity Message OOV€Y S 


Good Will Aviator in Albany 


After Making Forced Landing on Farm 


FAMII Y AM* Cl’* VISIT 4« STATIA. 


BALTIMORE AMERICAN— A Paper For P 


Hutchinson Family of 4 Relates 
Delights of Air Tour Over U. S. 

Flying Ambassadors Called On 


America’s Only Flying Family Visits Maine 


TOLEDO, OHIO, WEDXESD, 


All 48 Governors; Hoover 


FLYING FAMILY visits city Hying Family and Their Mascot 


Gypsies of the Air 


ChildrenComplete5000Milesin Air FlyingHutchinsons H 


ome With Mascot 


GEORGE RwHUTC HINSON 


MRS. HUTCHINSON 


j Americas First Flying Family Here With Hoover Message 


I Uly arc as perfectly '.t »omr In a | 
plane as on the around. 

' FueUuf attended to. the pro 
, eroding eu something as *°i 
town: 

I "Mama, ohere are the chil¬ 
dren?" vlu Captain Hutchinson. 

“Mama." who la rcareely Ulv 
. tinguishable in alxe t r on 
' Blanche Kathryn In the nifty 
l brownish aviators logs they all 
wrar. finds them looking for 
"funnies" and herds them to 
the family sir flivver. After. 


\yiTH c message or reluming 
* PIMlirttjr from HL E.rccl- 
'***>• Hruim Hoover, president 
"1 the United 6laUa Americas 
f-rat flying family dropped in 
.‘•unday at the mur.xlpal airport 
i>'t iu:. • 

‘Ibe famjy consists of Captain 
r <itvt R. Hutchinson. Mrs. 
luchmsen. their daughters. 
Janet Lee. five and Blanche 
eight, and tl*e cat. 

UU" U a six months-old 

li*iO cub. ind he •likes 
%try veil, thr.nk you." he gro*> 
9* to tkitan, 

f nK fiyn* im^ling in 

Mute^inson’a own st.n- 

plane, Q<nv09i 


Is a lecturer on aviation mat 
ter* and ha". two planes, the 
fitlr.Ton. specially cuUittcd to 
carry tlic pet lion, and a 
Lockheed The Stinson plane 
has compartm-r' fitted out just 
• back of the scale, and g.u tings 
In the skies give the young cub 
air and a place to look out at 
the ruilous at the various* air¬ 
ports they visit. He was not 
taken out of the plane here os 
this was only a slop for fuel, 
j The eight year old daughter. 
I Blanche Kathryn, lx declared by 
I her father to have had more 
| hotirs In the oh than anvothcr 
; child her toe in the world, and 
I she, with the ethers of the (am* 


"Clinton." carries an ornate 
parchment scroll, signed by 
President Hoover, ar.d to be 
signed by the covernors of all 
the states of the union, cpitom- 
Irlng "the spirit of 1931" They 
hopped off from Austin shortly 
brrore noon Sundav Just after 
Oovernor Rosa 6tcrlln* had af¬ 
fixed hla signature to the scroll, 
and were enroute to Baton 
Rouge to beard the fiery Huey 
Lon? In hla lair to ask for his 
autograph. 

Captain Hutchinson taid 
family had. been on the prea- 
rr.t Journey for loir week* aTy * 
Louisian^ was to be the 
UilmcitnUi slate waited, fit 


ir 


m 

W 


The round trip is finished 












































































The Journey’s End 


283 


cally vertically, landing in several small fields, and tak- 
ing off again, the pilot skilfully and convincingly dem¬ 
onstrated the safety and performance of the autogiro. 
Its only disadvantages were comparatively slow top 
and cruising speed and its load-carrying limitations. 

After flying in the conventional type of airplane, 
it was really thrilling for the family to experience 
such remarkable take-offs and landings in this new 
type of aircraft. 

The next hour found the family well on their way 
toward Columbia, the capital of South Carolina. 
While winging their way northward, Colonel Hutch¬ 
inson pictured, in vivid words, the possibilities of 
air travel in the not far distant future. He spoke of 
how giant four-motored planes would fly from New 
York to London in less than a day, carrying twenty, 
thirty, possibly fifty people; how the autogiro would 
be used to carry passengers from the airports to the 
tops of tall buildings. Special landings would be 
made along wharf and railroad stations with the 
autogiro carrying on an air taxi service between air 
terminals and terminals of land and sea transporta¬ 
tion. 

He told why he thought planes would fly at 
twenty, thirty, even forty thousand feet, in sealed 



284 


Flying the States 


cabins at three, four, and possibly five hundred miles 
an hour. With radio beams forming invisible tracks 
in the air, planes automatically piloted and directed 
by radio, traveling above all possible storm areas, 
passengers would be able to circle the earth in five 
days, in safety and perfect comfort, by 1940. 

And so, while Colonel Hutchinson's family flew 
over the green tobacco plantations of South Carolina 
and Georgia, they felt that in a small way they were 
encouraging others to challenge the old and accept 
the new. 

Columbia was reached without incident and Gov¬ 
ernor J. C. Blackwood added the forty-sixth signature 
to the Scroll. 

The family plane flew northward again toward 
Raleigh, the capital of North Carolina, over more 
tobacco fields and great cotton plantations, the two 
great products of the South. 

Lightning, thunder, and heavy rain greeted the 
plane as it circled the city in search of the local air¬ 
port. The spring thunder shower buffeted the plane 
about like a cork on the ocean. For a time the heavy 
black clouds covered the earth in darkness, and the 
Colonel was worried as he searched for the landing 
field. But in the pouring rain, as the loud peals of 



The Journey’s End 


285 


thunder and blinding flashes of lightning filled the 
air, the Flying Family once more made a safe landing. 

Ffere in Raleigh, the city bearing the name of that 
gallant gentleman of the English court, Sir Walter 
Raleigh, O. Max Gardner, Governor of the Tarheel 
State, signed his name as the forty'seventh Chief 
Executive. 

In his home Governor Gardner welcomed the 
Hutchinson family, showed them beautiful silver' 
ware that once adorned the officers’ mess on the great 
battleship North Carolina, told them something of the 
history and people of his beloved state. Then he 
wished them Happy Landings on their last lap. 

Hurrying to complete their task, with the thought 
in their minds that only one more signature remained 
to be added to the Scroll, the family flew toward 
Richmond, the capital of Virginia. 

Virginia, the greatest state in American history, 
brought to mind the names of George Washington, 
Captain John Smith, Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. 
Lee, John Marshall; Richmond, the capital of the 
Confederacy, Jamestown, the first permanent Eng' 
lish settlement; Williamsburg with its William and 
Mary College, and Charlottesville with its renowned 
University of Virginia. 



286 


Flying the States 


Crossing the James River and landing at Byrd 
Field, the family was escorted to the beautiful Capi- 
tol Square and the distinguished State Capitol Build¬ 
ing, where John Garland Pollard, beloved college 
professor, now Governor of Virginia, completed the 
Scroll with his signature. 

Anxious to reach Washington and their journey’s 
end with the completed Scroll, Colonel Hutchinson 
once more headed the plane northward. 

Near Quantico, the famous training quarters of 
the United States Marines, the family plane drew 
alongside of the huge airship Los Angeles, with its 
long, silver, cigar shaped body glistening in the eve¬ 
ning sun. 

Throttling back sufficiently to barely maintain level 
flight, the Colonel flew alongside of this giant of the 
air. From the gondola the officers waved greetings 
to the Hutchinson family, who returned each friend¬ 
ly gesture. 

It was a big thrill to Janet Lee and Kathryn to find 
themselves so near this silver mammoth of the air, 
to see its officers at their positions in the gondola, 
to be able to keep abreast of the great airship, and 
inspect its exterior from stern to stern on each side 
while it sailed serenely onward. 



The Journey y s End 


287 


Together, the airship and the airplane soared over 
Washington, D. C., the capital of the United States. 

From Bolling Field, a great fleet of Navy and Army 
planes rose and soared around the Los Angeles. 
And it was with this unexpected and impressive es- 
cort that the Flying Family completed the last lap 
of their eventful flight. 

Thousands of people, who had gathered to see the 
Los Angeles and the air reception, greeted the family 
with equal friendliness when their plane came to rest 
on Bolling Field in the nation's capital. 

There remained to be done only the returning of 
the beautiful Scroll to the President of the United 
States, with the forty-nine signatures, evidence of 
the completed task. The famous flight, with all its 
thrills and excitements, was over. 

The Flying Family had written a memorable page 
in American family history. As other families had 
pioneered on land and sea, the Hutchinsons were, 
in this twentieth century, leading the way for other 
families in the air. 

They were the first family to fly through the forty- 
eight states, and the first family to be received by 
each of the forty-eight state governors, and the Presi¬ 
dent. In winter and early spring they had flown over 



288 


Flying the States 


twenty'five thousand miles without injury. Yet the 
air journeys of this Flying Family were only begin' 
ning. As they have flown the States, so they may 
one day fly the world. 

To the Colonel and his wife, their experience 
proved to them the satisfaction of educating their 
children through modem travel. The knowledge and 
ability of Janet Lee and Kathryn made their parents 
proud of the results of their efforts. 

To Janet Lee and Kathryn, going to school in the 
air was great fun. Every day the picture changed, 
a given subject was always new and interesting. To 
school work was added the thrills of flying and the 
real excitement of adventures in the skies. What boy 
or girl is there today, who would not trade places 
with the Hutchinson children? 

The airplane is here to stay. It will play an im' 
portant part in the future development, and protec' 
tion of our country. 
































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